Most militants involved in recent attacks had been released under deal: Pakistan minister

Islamabad: Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Tuesday that most militants involved in recent terrorist attacks in the country had been released under a previous agreement.

Mohsin Naqvi, briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, also said that released rebels fled across the border to Afghanistan and were operating from there.

"Most of those orchestrating attacks against Pakistan are the ones released under the agreement,” he said. “Our Home Secretary has already visited Afghanistan and provided all the evidence, urging them to take action." He did not provide the details of the agreement leading to the release of dangerous terrorists, but the current government has repeatedly alleged that the Imran Khan government had released militants after holding talks with the Pakistani Taliban in the wake of the Afghan Taliban taking over Kabul in 2021.

Khan had personally expressed exuberance at the Afghan Taliban's return to power, saying that they "broke the shackles of slavery".

Pakistan had high hopes that the Taliban regime in Kabul would address its security issues but the situation deteriorated since the Taliban came to power and terrorist attacks have increased manifold.

Naqvi, explaining the increase in terrorism, pointed out that many attacks were being planned in Afghanistan, with a significant presence of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants gathering there.

He also talked about the August 26 attacks in Balochistan in which more than 50 people were killed, saying the attacks were planned and carried out by groups of banned outfits.

Talking about the magnitude of one terrorist attack on that day, Naqvi said they attacked Frontier Corps and 14 watchtowers of the building were simultaneously under fire.

"Our forces confronted them. Had they managed to breach the compound, the damage could have been catastrophic," he said.

However, he said there were no plans for a military operation in Balochistan and that operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were being conducted based on intelligence.