Two Pakistan intelligence officers gunned down in Punjab province

Slain officers had been identified for his or her work monitoring down members of Pakistan’s Taliban and fixing complicated armed assaults.

A gunman has shot and killed two officers with Pakistan’s intelligence service outdoors a roadside restaurant within the east of the nation, police and safety officers stated.

Murtaza Bhatti, a senior police officer within the Punjab province’s district of Khanewal, stated the assault on Tuesday came about as the 2 officers had been parking their car.

Nobody has claimed duty for killing the officers, who had been identified for arresting members of the Pakistani Taliban and different armed teams. They had been additionally identified for his or her experience in investigating and fixing sophisticated circumstances, together with gun and bomb assaults in Pakistan.

Officers stated one of many slain officers was the director of the provincial counterterrorism division, which has performed a key function in arresting members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, often known as Pakistani Taliban.

The armed group has stepped up assaults on safety forces in current months after unilaterally ending a ceasefire with the Pakistan authorities in November.

The Pakistani Taliban are separate however allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized energy in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of NATO and United States troops after 20 years of battle.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif stated on Monday {that a} current “wave of terrorist assaults” in Pakistan was coming from Pakistani Taliban hiding in Afghanistan. He requested Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to cease such fighters from utilizing their soil for assaults in Pakistan.

On Tuesday, Afghan Taliban’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, stated Afghanistan needed good relations with all its neighbouring international locations, together with Pakistan. However he additionally requested Islamabad to chorus from making provocative statements that may result in distrust.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan values peace and stability in its nation, it needs peace and stability for the entire area and continues its efforts on this means,” he stated.

He stated the “Islamic Emirate is attempting its finest to make sure that Afghanistan’s territory is just not used towards Pakistan or every other nation”.