Terrorists should not be called by any other name, says Tarar

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday criticized the use of the term “militants” to describe those responsible for attacks on civilians, saying “terrorists are terrorists” and should not be called by any other name.

In a post on X, Tarar said: “Terrorists are terrorists, they have no caste, colour, creed or religion.” He said there seemed to be “a tendency to call these terrorists ‘militants,’ which is extremely unfortunate,” adding that the terminology used to describe such attacks is important.

Referring to a report by Turkish public broadcaster TRT World on the recent terrorist attack on a Rangers facility in Karachi, in which three security personnel were killed, Tarar criticized the broadcaster for describing the attackers as “militants”, saying they should instead be called “terrorists”.

“The Karachi attack was a terrorist attack in which innocent people were killed.” He added that “terrorists should not be called by any other name.”

Tarar’s comments come days after security forces foiled a terror attack in Karachi, in which three Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) personnel embraced martyrdom and four others were injured. The attack, according to army media, was launched by “Khawarij belonging to the Indian proxy, Jamaat-ul-AhrarThe attackers, after an explosion at the main gate of the Rangers camp, attempted to breach the security perimeter but were repelled by personnel who killed three Kharjis and captured one, identified as an injured Afghan citizen.

Fitna al-Khawarij is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar It is one of the breakaway factions of the group.

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said the Afghan charge d’affaires was summoned and issued a firm statement on the attack. The decree “was issued in light of the fact that Afghan nationals, including one detained alive, participated in this attack, demonstrating once again that Afghan soil and Afghan citizens continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.”

Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces had carried out precision strikes against terrorist camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar, killing 29 terrorists. The attacks were carried out as part of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq. on the night of June 28-29 following an attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi.

Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan began in October, killing dozens of people on both sides, with Afghans hardest hit. Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harboring terrorists who launch attacks in Pakistan, although Kabul denies this and calls militancy an internal Islamabad problem.