New offensive against militants displaces thousands in northwest Pakistan

There was no formal government announcement about the launch of the offensive in Bajaur, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but a government administrator, Saeed Ullah, said that it was not a large-scale operation and only insurgent hideouts were being hit to avoid any civilian casualties. Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, are a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August, 2021, as U.S. and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and have even been living there openly since the Taliban takeover, which also emboldened the Pakistani Taliban.