PESHAWAR: Security forces arrested a former Afghan National Army (ANA) member in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah area for allegedly carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan, Additional Inspector General (AIG) Abbas Ahsan said.
Addressing a joint press conference on Wednesday, the AIG and Regional Development Council spokesperson Mehmood Jan Babar shared details about the high-profile terrorist.
Babar said the security forces arrested the suspect, identified as Hikmatullah alias Hamza, on November 7 following a tip-off from intelligence sources.
He said the arrested suspect had contacts with terrorists across the border as well as inside the country. He added that Hikmatullah had also worked with the Gul Bahadur group.
The AIG said further measures were being taken against drone attacks by terrorists. He said anti-drone systems would be installed within the next six months.
The arrested suspect hails from Mangryal village in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, the police officer said.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in cross-border terrorist incidents, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Pakistan recorded its highest monthly number of militant attacks in 12 years during September 2026.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by militant organisations to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan maintains that the Afghan Taliban regime has failed to take effective action against groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Despite multiple rounds of talks, Islamabad and Kabul have yet to resolve their differences, with the issue of militant groups operating from Afghan soil remaining a major point of contention between the two sides. –Agencies
