In an unusual night-time raid, Pakistani security personnel stormed a militant den in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), leading to an exchanges of gunfire that killed two police personnel and four Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, police said on Thursday (May 29).
The raid occurred in Rawalakot district, an area at the centre of the border conflict between India and Pakistan. The operation was preceded by intelligence that militants were seeking to set up a base for future operations, Abdul Jabbar, the police chief of PoK, said.
Jabbar claimed that the dead militants belonged to the Pakistani Taliban, a group outlawed in the country and allied with the Afghan Taliban. He also blamed the TTP for serving as an Indian proxy, although New Delhi has remained mum on the allegations.
Whereas Pakistani military forces actively conduct counterinsurgency missions in the northwestern parts of the country, such operations in PoK are not typical. The Pakistani Taliban, which is separate from the Afghan Taliban, has become increasingly brazen since the latter’s return to power in 2021 in Afghanistan, with most of its commanders supposedly finding sanctuary on the other side of the frontier.
Pakistan’s convoluted dynamic with the Taliban has evolved drastically over time. Originally a strategic partner in the 1990s Afghan conflict, the re-emergence of the Afghan Taliban has now energized the TTP, making it more challenging for Islamabad to manage internal security.
Established in 2007, the TTP has conducted numerous attacks throughout Pakistan, attacking civilians, military outposts, and schools. Although there have been multiple military campaigns targeting the elimination of the group particularly in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas the TTP is still a formidable force.
Islamabad continues to pressure the Taliban in Kabul to curtail TTP activity, while simultaneously increasing local military operations to counter the militant group’s resurgence.
