In a statement issued last night, military's media wing said that 'wanted terrorist Wasim Zakaria was the mastermind of the 30 different act of terrorism since 2019, including target killings, attacks on security forces and other government officials'.
"Security forces conducted an IBO in Mir Ali town where five militants, including Zakaria, were killed while 10 were arrested," the ISPR said. “The terrorist organisation's network was destroyed after the operation,” the ISPR added in a statement.
According to ISPR, Wasim Zakaria belonged to Haider Khel area of Mir Ali. "Terrorist Wasim was involved in target killings and the martyrdom of CSS officer Zubaidullah Dawar," said the ISPR in a statement.
COAS Bajwa's visit to North Waziristan:
In Aug, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited the Pakistan Army troops along the Pak-Afghan border in Dawatoi sector of North Waziristan, where lauded the soldiers for ‘remarkable operational performance and high state of morale’.
The army chief was briefed on complementing border security/management measures being undertaken, especially the progress of fencing along the complete Pak-Afghan border.
According to the ISPR, the COAS had said: “We have to remain vigilant and steadfast to thwart hostile attempts to create chaos and reverse the gains of Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad.” Gen Bajwa had said Pakistan was committed to peace and stability and for this reason, it was playing its part by solidifying border security and enhancing the capacity of Frontier Corps and other law-enforcement agencies.
In a series of tweets, the military’s media wing had said that recent consolidation operations along the Afghan border ensured effective domination of some inaccessible pockets of land which were ‘being sporadically used by terrorists’ as hideouts. Over 90 improvised explosive devices (IED) were recovered during the course of the operations.
Attacks in North and South Waziristan:
On Aug 11, at least three Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred and four personnel received injuries during a search operation in South Waziristan, said the military’s media wing in a statement. The martyred soldiers are identified as Subedar Nadeem, Sepoy Saleem and Lance Naik Musawar.
In the same month, some unknown gunmen had attacked Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmaker Mir Kalam Wazir in North Waziristan. According to police, the MPA came under attack in Mir Ali bazaar, where unidentified gunmen opened fire at him. The bullets damaged the vehicle of the lawmaker, but he along with his companions remained safe.
In July, four soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan. “4 terrorists killed during an IBO in Vezhda Sar, 8 kms South West of Boya, Miranshah, North Waziristan District,” the military’s media wing said in a statement issued at the time.
In May, one soldier, who was identified as Amir, was martyred as a result of an explosive device attack that took place in a crowded market near Mirali in North Waziristan tribal district.