Pakistan’s military said on Thursday that a “high-value target,” identified as a senior commander of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was among four militants killed during an exchange of fire near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that late Wednesday night, the movement of a group of militants attempting to infiltrate into Pakistan was detected by forces in the Bajaur area.
“Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted khwarijs’ attempt to infiltrate. As a result of precise and skilful engagement, four khwarij, including khwarij leader, a high-value target, khwarij Amjad alias Mazahim, were sent to hell,” the ISPR said.
The military identified Amjad as the deputy to TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud and head of the group’s Rehbari Shura (leadership council).
Meanwhile, in a statement issued later the same day, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan confirmed the death of its former deputy emir, Mufti Mazahim, along with his associate Commander Yasir.
TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani said the group “takes pride in the martyrdom” of Mazahim, rejecting Pakistan’s claim that he was killed while attempting to cross the border.
“The so-called Royal Indian Army’s attempt to distort the circumstances of the martyrdom of this great son of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan — claiming that Mufti Sahib was killed while crossing the border — is a complete lie and deceit,” the statement said. “This cowardly army has always avoided facing Mufti Sahib and his skilled unit.”
Khurasani said Mazahim had been travelling across northern zones to review organisational matters and instruct local commanders when he “achieved martyrdom in an act of betrayal” in Bajaur.
Terrorism researcher Abdul Sayed, based in Sweden, said Amjad had been designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the United States in 2022. “He was the TTP’s shadow minister of war and oversaw operations in Balochistan, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southern Punjab,” Sayed said, describing his death as “one of the most significant blows to the group’s leadership in years.”
Security analyst Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, based in Islamabad, said the operation represented a “major success” for Pakistan’s counter-terrorism campaign and “possibly the most notable in two decades of operations against the TTP.”