Near the Naryab Dam area of Hangu district, a chance encounter turned deadly when Frontier Corps North’s brave Naib Subedar Ali Asghar, riding alone on his motorcycle, came face-to-face with a makeshift checkpoint manned by khawarij. In the ensuing exchange, he managed to gun down a key Khariji commander, Turab alias Malangyaar Wazir of Almira village, Shewa (North Waziristan), before succumbing to his own injuries and embracing shahadat.
According to security sources, khawarij had devised a deceptive plan to ambush and capture Naib Subedar Ali Asghar alive by luring him into a carefully orchestrated checkpoint trap. Their objective was to use the seasoned officer for propaganda purposes or as a bargaining chip in a potential prisoner exchange. However, in a display of remarkable courage and tactical awareness, Subedar Ali Asghar identified the threat in time and preemptively opened fire, effectively exposing and eliminating the khariji before the plan could unfold.
The slain khariji, Turab a.k.a. Malangyaar Wazir, was a mid-level commander affiliated with a breakaway faction of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating under the khawarij’s extremist ideology. He had a long track record of involvement in IED attacks, targeted assassinations, and cross-border infiltration missions facilitated from the Khost and Paktika regions of Afghanistan.
Eyewitnesses and local sources reported a brief but intense exchange of fire. Though Naib Subedar Ali Asghar succeeded in killing the terrorist on the spot, he sustained critical injuries during the confrontation and later embraced martyrdom while in service to the nation.
Security analysts consider this a major setback for the Khawarij’s operational capacity in the region. Turab had reportedly been instrumental in building sleeper cells and operational networks across Hangu and the Kurram tribal belt. His death is expected to disrupt the group’s coordination and local chain of command.
The body of Shaheed Ali Asghar was transported to his native town with full military honours. His funeral prayers were attended by senior military officials, tribal elders, and a large number of locals, all gathered to pay their respects to a hero who gave his life for Pakistan’s security.
Military leadership paid glowing tributes to the fallen soldier’s bravery, reaffirming the nation’s unwavering resolve in the fight against terrorism. “The blood of our brave soldiers will not go in vain. Every drop strengthens our determination to rid Pakistan of Khawarij and their foreign-backed agenda,” said a senior ISPR official.
Meanwhile, intelligence-based operations have been ramped up across the Orakzai and Hangu districts to apprehend any remaining facilitators and eliminate possible safe havens maintained by the network.
