Over 60 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists attacked a border security check-post in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, but were pushed back by the security forces who killed two militants, officials said on Tuesday.
The terrorists, associated with Muslim and Amjad groups of the Pakistani Taliban, attacked the Marghan Check Post in the Kurram district, bordering Afghanistan, sources said.
The terrorists, numbering more than 60, were armed with sophisticated weapons, they said.
A fierce gunbattle ensued between the security forces and terrorists in which two militants died.
The TTP was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.
The Pakistani government has officially declared the banned organisation as "Fitna al-Khawarij", a reference to a group in earlier Islamic history which was involved in violence.
The term “Khariji” will now be used alongside the names of these terrorists to expose their true identity. Additionally, the use of religious titles such as 'Mufti' and 'Hafiz' for individuals associated with terrorist organisations is prohibited, sources said.
This rebranding of the TTP reflects the government's commitment to combating terrorism by delegitimising its ideology.
As part of its broader anti-terrorism efforts, the government banned two more militant groups, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and Majeed Brigade (MB), bringing the total number of banned organisations to 81.
According to a digital database of an Islamabad-based think-tank, a total of 59 terrorist attacks occurred across Pakistan in August 2024, killing 84 people.
With these, the total tally of attacks in the country this year has risen to 325, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).
