Senior army officer embraces martyrdom in Shawal clash

Pakistan Army and militants exchanged fire at Shawal due to which six terrorists were killed.

The officer has been identified as Lieutenant Colonel Faisal Malik, while the soldier’s identity is yet to be revealed.

Several militants were also killed in security forces’ counterattack. Before the operation began, the army ordered most civilians to leave.

Shawal Valley, which borders South Waziristan on one side and Afghanistan on the other, has the toughest terrain in the tribal agency.

Since May, the military has stepped up operations in Shawal, where Taliban militants are still holed up.

The airstrikes are part of ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb against foreign and local militants in North Waziristan, a tribal region near the Afghan border that is used as a base by the insurgents to attack the rest of Pakistan.

The military spokesman, Asim Bajwa, said last month that the forces have already completed the first phase of the ground offensive in Shawal area and the second is being planned to take control of the few pockets.

Meanwhile, Lt Gen James Rupert Everard, Commander UK Land Forces, visited the GHQ and called on army chief General Raheel Sharif.

The British general appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for countering terrorism.