At least five alleged members of the armed group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have died during an operation carried out by Pakistan's security forces in a town in the province of Punjab, located in the northwest of the country.
A spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) explained this Tuesday, in statements collected by the newspaper "Dawn", that the five suspects lost their lives after opening fire on Pakistani agents when they were carrying out an operation in the municipality of Mankor, which triggered an intense shootout.
After the exchange of fire, security forces seized a significant arsenal of weapons and various explosive materials with which the alleged militants planned to carry out attacks in Punjab, as detailed by the aforementioned spokesman.
According to information disseminated by the Pakistani channel Samaa TV, the authorities have confirmed that those killed belonged to the TTP, known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Along these lines, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has praised the agents' actions for the "successful operation against Fitna al Khawarij," an expression with which both the Government and the Army of the country refer to the TTP, according to Radio Pakistan.
The border strip with Afghanistan has become a hotbed of instability for years, largely due to the actions of the Pakistani Taliban, in a context marked by Islamabad's accusations against India and the Afghan Taliban for their alleged support of the organization, something that has been rejected by New Delhi and Kabul.