Pak kills over 24 militants in crackdown after shrine blast

February 17, 2017

Islamabad, Feb 17: Pakistani security forces today killed more than 24 militants in a nationwide crackdown, a day after an ISIS suicide bomber blew himself up in Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh's Sehwan, claiming 76 lives. Paramilitary Sindh Rangers today said they killed 18 terrorists in overnight operations in the southern province. According to Rangers, seven terrorists were killed in a shootout after they attacked a convoy of the paramilitary troops on the Super Highway near Kathor, Sindh.

The convoy was returning from Sehwan town after taking part in rescue operations. A soldier was also injured. Another 11 terrorists were killed in a raid carried out in Manghopir area of Karachi, according to Rangers. Separately, police in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said they have killed 11 extremist in the restive province. According to a security official, police killed three terrorists in Reggi area of Peshawar, while army targeted and killed four militants in Orakzai tribal region. Another four militants were killed in exchange of fire in in Bannu area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Official said the crackdown would be intensified in the coming days as government had resolved to eliminate militancy.

The crackdown was launched simultaneously by the federal and provincial governments after at least eight terror attacks rocked Pakistan since the weekend, killing dozens. A high-level meeting this week chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif agreed that militants posing threat to national security should be "liquidated". Several persons injured in shrine blast are in critical condition and they will be shifted to Karachi, officials said.

The army said that the armed forces had placed all required resources to facilitate the rescue effort. Pakistan Army and Rangers assisted with rescue efforts at the site. The ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack on their Aamaq news agency, saying a suicide bomber had targeted a "Shiite gathering" at the shrine in Sindh. The shrine has been sealed and police have collected initial evidence and secured CCTV footage.

The fresh wave of terror attacks started when a suicide bomber attacked a protest rally outside the Punjab assembly in Lahore on Monday killing 14 people and injuring dozens. On the same day, a terrorist attack was foiled in Quetta but two officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad were killed diffusing a bomb under a bridge in Quetta. Terrorists also carried out attacks in Mohmand agency and Peshawar followed by shrine blast in Sindh.

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In meeting with Zohran Mamdani, Trump repeats claim he stopped India-Pak war

Agencies

November 22,2025

New York/Washington: US President Donald Trump has again claimed to have solved the conflict between India and Pakistan, repeating his assertion during a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office.

Mamdani flew to Washington DC for his first meeting with Trump in the White House on Friday. Trump said he “enjoyed” the meeting, which he described as “great.”

During remarks in the Oval Office, with Mamdani standing next to him, Trump repeated his claim that he solved the May conflict between India and Pakistan.

"I did eight peace deals of countries, including India and Pakistan,” he said.

On Wednesday, Trump had said he threatened to put 350 per cent tariffs on India and Pakistan if they did not end their conflict, repeating his claim that he solved the fighting between the nuclear-armed neighbours and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called him to say “we're not going to go to war.”

Since May 10, when Trump announced on social media that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate” ceasefire after a “long night” of talks mediated by Washington, he has repeated his claim over 60 times that he “helped settle” the tensions between India and Pakistan.

India has consistently denied any third-party intervention. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. India and Pakistan reached an understanding on May 10 to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

Mamdani emerged victorious in the closely-watched battle for New York City Mayor, becoming the first South Asian and Muslim to be elected to sit at the helm of the largest city in the US.

He had been the front-runner in the NYC Mayoral election for months and defeated Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and political heavyweight former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent candidate and was officially endorsed by Trump just hours before the elections.

Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalised US citizen only recently, in 2018.

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