Terrorists must 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 referred to 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 appeared to be “a tendency to call these terrorists ‘militants’, which is extremely unfortunate”, adding that the terminology used to describe such attacks mattered.

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

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

Tarar’s comments come days after security forces foiled a terrorist attack in Karachi in which three Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) personnel embraced martyrdom and four others were injured. According to the military’s media wing, the attack was launched by “Khawarij associated Indian agent, Jamaat-ul-AhrarAfter an explosion at the main gate of the Rangers camp, the assailants tried to breach the perimeter security but were pushed back by personnel killing three Kharjis and captured one, identified as an Afghan national, in an injured condition.

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

On Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned and issued a strong demarche over the attack. The demarche “was issued in light of the fact that Afghan nationals, including one who was apprehended alive, participated in this attack, proving yet again that Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.”

Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces had carried out precision strikes on terrorist camps and safe havens in Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, killing 29 terrorists. The attacks were carried out under 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 started in October, killing many on both sides, with the Afghans taking the lead. Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harboring terrorists who launch attacks in Pakistan, although Kabul denies this, calling the militancy Islamabad’s domestic problem.