Two militants killed during raid in Sindh, says official

MULTAN: Pakistani counterterrorism police and secret service officials raided a militant hideout on Saturday, killing two militants accused of involvement in attacks on security forces, an official said.

Shahid Solangi, a counterterrorism officer, said the early morning raid took place in the Patni area of the city of Sukkur in southern Sindh province.

He said the militants attempted to escape and opened fire on officers, triggering a shootout.

Solangi said two militants belonging to the Noor-e-islam group of the Pakistani Taliban were killed.

Solangi said the slain militants were involved in attacks on police and security forces in South Waziristan and other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in the northwest.

He said the two men entered Sindh province in recent days and had been under surveillance of security agencies.

Pakistani militants have in recent months stepped up attacks on security forces in the former tribal regions in northwest and southwestern Balochistan province, raising concerns that insurgents are regrouping in various parts of the country.

Militant attacks are on the rise in Pakistan amid a growing religiosity that has brought greater intolerance, prompting one expert to voice concern the country could be overwhelmed by religious extremism.

Pakistani authorities are embracing strengthening religious belief among the population to bring the country closer together. But it’s doing just the opposite, creating intolerance and opening up space for a creeping resurgence in militancy, said Mohammad Amir Rana, executive director of the independent Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies.

“Unfortunately, instead of helping to inculcate better ethics and integrity, this phenomenon is encouraging a tunnel vision” that encourages violence, intolerance and hate, he wrote recently in a local newspaper. “Religiosity has begun to define the Pakistani citizenry.”