As many as seven soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom as terrorists ambushed a military convoy near the Pak-Afghan border area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district, the military said in a statement on Friday.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces initiated a prompt response, and effectively engaged and killed four terrorists. The martyred soldiers included 36-year-old Havaldar Tariq Yousaf of Faisalabad, 34-year-old Sepoy Suleman Waqas of Layyah, 26-year-old Sepoy Junaid Ali of Layyah, 27-year-old Sepoy Ijaz Hussain of Khairpur, 25-year-old Sepoy Waqar Ahmed of Mirpur Khas, 24-year-old Sepoy Muhammad Jawad Ameer of Chakwal and 23-year-old Sepoy Arshad Ali of Sohbatpur.
The ISPR said that a clearance operation in the Isham area of North Waziristan was underway to eliminate any remaining terrorists. “The Pakistan Army is determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further strengthen our resolve,” the statement further said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while condemning the incident, said that the martyrdom of soldiers will not be in vain. “The martyrdom of our seven jawans in North Waziristan will not be in vain, make no mistake about it, we will hunt down those responsible. These brave martyrs will continue to inspire us and we will continue to defeat terrorism and protect our soil,” he said in a tweet.
It may be mentioned here that a soldier of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom during an exchange of fire with terrorists in the district on Thursday.
