Bannu –  A police constable embraced martyrdom, while at least 14 others, including ten policemen and four civilians, were injured during a fierce exchange of fire with militants in the Mamandkhel area of Bannu district on Thursday. Seven militants were reportedly killed in the operation.

Security officials said the clash began during a search operation launched after reports of militant presence in the area. Law-enforcement personnel, backed by members of the Elite Force and armoured vehicles, engaged the militants near Masoomabad along the Bannu–Miranshah road. The gun battle lasted several hours.

The martyred policeman was identified as driver Abid, a resident of Sikandarkhel Bsala. The injured were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital Bannu. Among the wounded policemen were DSP Malik Ihsan and constables Irshad, Anwarullah, Ishaq, Baseer, Hazrat Ali, Sajjad Ali, Asmatullah, Wahidullah and Abdul Samad. The civilians wounded in the clash were identified as Hussainur Rehman, Muzammil Khan, Lajbaar Khan, and an eight-year-old girl, Wahaj. 

Islamabad’s Demands in Istanbul

The escalation of violence comes as Pakistan has handed over what officials describe as evidence-based and “logical security demands” to the Afghan Taliban during the ongoing Istanbul talks, where mediators are continuing discussions on Pakistan’s insistence that cross-border infiltration and attacks must end. The talks entered their second day on Thursday, with no public statement on progress.

Militant Infrastructure in Afghanistan

Pakistani security assessments state that 58 training camps, staging posts and lodging facilities linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) are currently active inside Afghanistan with what Islamabad alleges is the knowledge of the Kabul administration. Pakistani officials claim that senior militant figures are residing in designated guest houses, receiving transport, monthly stipends and security protection, and have been issued movement permits to ensure unhindered travel through Afghan security checkpoints.

Patterns of Infiltration

According to Pakistani records, since June 2025 there have been 172 infiltration formations, or tashkeels, involving nearly 4,000 fighters entering Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additional infiltration from Zabul, Paktika, Kandahar, Helmand and Nimroz into Balochistan accounted for 83 more formations, numbering around 1,200 fighters.

TTP Leadership and Afghan Support Allegations

Islamabad asserts that TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud is currently living in Kabul and receiving a US $43,000 monthly stipend from the Afghan Taliban. While both the TTP and the Afghan authorities deny this, Pakistani officials point to urgent voice messages released by Mehsud following a strike in Kabul on May 7, in which he reassured his followers that he had survived. Officials say these messages indicate he believed himself to be directly targeted in Kabul.

While Kabul maintains that the TTP is Pakistan’s internal issue, Pakistani officials say there has been a significant rise in Afghan nationals involved in cross-border militant activity. Prior to 2021, Afghan nationals made up 5 to 10 percent of infiltrators; the figure now stands at 70 to 80 percent, according to security data.

Recent Attacks and Identified Afghan Militants

Several major attacks between 2022 and 2025 have been attributed to Afghan nationals, including the bombing at Imam Bargah Kucha Risaldar in Peshawar in March 2022, and subsequent suicide attacks in Hayatabad and Bannu in 2023. Further attacks in Besham, Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Mir Ali in 2024 and 2025 were also linked to Afghan attackers. One militant killed earlier this year, Badruddin alias Yusuf, was identified as the son of the deputy governor of Badghis province. Pakistani officials say he trained at a Taliban facility before joining the TTP.

Between April and September 2025, Pakistani forces killed 135 Afghan nationals in counterterror operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. In total, authorities say 267 Afghan militants killed in engagements have been identified by name and province of origin. In two major operations in April and August 2025, 45 Afghan militants were killed in North Waziristan and 70 more in Sambaza, Zhob. Officials say the Afghan Taliban later requested the return of the bodies, which Islamabad describes as unprecedented acknowledgment of Afghan involvement.

In October 2025, a condolence gathering in Rennes, France, for an Afghan national killed fighting in Bajaur drew attention after open expressions of sympathy for the TTP. In another operation, Pakistani forces killed Qasim alias Milyar, identified as an Afghan Border Police official from Paktika, who was found carrying a forged Pakistani identity card.

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Militant Presence Beyond the TTP

According to the 36th UN Monitoring Report (2025), Al-Qaeda fighters and training centres remain active in several Afghan provinces including Ghazni, Helmand, Kandahar, Kunar, Uruzgan and Zabul. The report states that three joint training sites are operated by Al-Qaeda and the TTP, which is believed to maintain around 6,000 fighters in Afghanistan.

The BLA is reported to have 300 militants operating across Kandahar, Nimroz, Helmand, Herat, Farah and Kabul, alongside financial and logistical networks. Other militant groups present in Afghanistan include Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Tehreek-e-Taliban Tajikistan, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and Jaish-ul-Adl.

A senior Pakistani security analyst, speaking on background, said the latest escalation in Bannu reflects “a widening security gap that dialogue alone cannot bridge unless Kabul is willing to act.” He noted that the Istanbul talks may offer “a narrow but critical window” to reduce cross-border militancy, but cautioned that continued infiltration would almost certainly lead to further confrontation. “The coming weeks will show whether this is a turning point or the continuation of a deteriorating pattern,” he added.