ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday promised to root out militancy from Pakistan, his office said, hours after a militant attack killed six soldiers in the country’s restive northwest.
Militants opened fire on a security post in the South Waziristan district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, killing six soldiers. The retaliatory fire killed five attackers, according to Pakistan’s military. Seven other militants were killed while infiltrating the border in the North Waziristan district.
Pakistan has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent weeks, with many of them taking place in KP that borders Afghanistan where Islamabad says groups like the outlawed Pakistani Taliban are hiding and from where they daily target police and security forces.
In a statement issued from his office, PM Sharif paid a tribute to Pakistani security forces for successful operations against militants in North and South Waziristan districts of the KP province.
“The sacrifices of our soldiers will never go in vain,” he said. “Our war against terrorists will continue till the complete elimination of terrorism from the country.”
Islamabad says militants mainly associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) frequently launch attacks from Afghanistan and has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating anti-Pakistan groups. Kabul denies the charges.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the international body was “particularly worried” about the penetration of militants from Afghanistan into Pakistan, calling on Kabul not to allow its soil to be used by terror groups.
“We are particularly worried… when we look into the neighboring countries, we are particularly worried with the fact that there is a penetration of terrorists from Afghanistan into Pakistan and that that is creating, of course, many innocent victims and being a threat to Pakistani security,” Guterres told reporters in response to a question about what the UN planned to do about militants using safe havens in Afghanistan to launch attacks in Pakistan.
“So, one of the things that is absolutely essential is that Afghanistan controls its territory and doesn’t allow terrorist groups from any other country to operate from Afghanistan.”

ISLAMABAD: A three-day cultural and religious event to celebrate and honor the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) commenced in Islamabad on Friday, with a senior Pakistani minister emphasizing that Muslims could carve out their place in the world by following the teachings of Islam.
The “Seerat Festival” began with an international conference, “Searching for World Peace: In the Light of the Prophet’s Teachings,” organized by the National Rehmat-ul-Alameen and Khatam-un-Nabiyyin Authority (NRKNA) at a local university in the federal capital.
The authority, established in 2021, aims to advance research on the life of the Prophet (PBUH) and contribute to the moral and ethical development of Pakistani youth.
The Seerat Festival, held during Rabi’ Al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar when the Prophet (PBUH) was born, is part of the government’s initiatives to highlight his life and teachings as crucial for the development of modern Muslim communities.
“We will start a new movement of knowledge,” Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said while addressing the conference. “Muslims will once again become world leaders of knowledge. We will take action in accordance with the character of the Prophet (PBUH).”
Speaking to Arab News, the top official of the Pakistani authority that organized the event said this was the first time the country had held the Seerat Festival.
“A number of activities are going on here,” Khurshid Nadeem, the NRKNA chairman, said. “One is today’s international conference on the concept of peace in the light of the teaching of the Holy Prophet. We are asking the new generation to learn about, to study about the Seerat [way of life] of the Prophet and then go and act according to his teachings.”
He maintained it was essential for the young generation in Pakistan to develop a close relationship with the Prophet’s (PBUH) life.
The Islamic scholars present at the gathering, where handwritten manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an had also been displayed, emphasized the significance of following in the footsteps of the Prophet (PBUH).
The conference was also attended by young students who described it a good learning experience.
“At this festival, we learned a lot, especially how to implement the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in our daily lives,” said Wareeha Adnan, a first-year student at a local college in Islamabad.