Militants involved in Cadet College Wana assault eliminated: Pakistan officials

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (MNTV) — Pakistani security forces announced on 11–12 November 2025 that all militants involved in the assault on Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan district have been killed in a coordinated clearance operation.

According to the military’s spokesperson, the raid began after a vehicle‐borne improvised explosive device rammed into the main gate of the college on Monday evening, allowing the attackers—described as four “Khawarij” and one suicide bomber affiliated with the banned Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—to enter the compound.

During the subsequent operation, security forces swiftly evacuated approximately 550 students, as confirmed by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who described the rescue as a “huge achievement” of the Pakistan Army. No student or teacher was reported injured during the clearance.

The institution’s buildings are now being swept for landmines, said sources, noting the danger posed by explosives left behind by the militants.

Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, speaking in the National Assembly, labelled the attack a “wake­up call” and declared that “Pakistan is in a state of war.” He added that attacks on terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan “could not be ruled out.”

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said that the militants had communicated with handlers in Afghanistan, asserting Islamabad’s demand that Afghan territory must not be used as a launchpad for attacks on Pakistan.

Meanwhile, a separate suicide blast outside a court complex in Islamabad on 11 November 2025 killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 20 others. Pakistani officials link the two attacks and claim foreign backing.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari held a meeting in the wake of the incidents pledging to pursue “foreign-backed terrorists and their facilitators until the complete elimination of terrorism.”

The attack on the college triggered the activation of the campus’s rapid response protocols. Sources say that the militants targeted the administrative block while cadets were going about their routine. The army moved quickly to evacuate the students, restrict the attackers’ mobility and eliminate the threat.

Local hospital officials reported that nine nearby civilians—men, women and children—were injured when the explosion damaged surrounding structures.

The operation follows a recent uptick in militant violence, particularly by the TTP, which ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022 and has since ramped up attacks on security forces and civilians.

A powerful explosion in New Delhi shook the Indian government just a day before a suicide blast struck a busy area of Islamabad.

The timing and potential connection between the attacks in the Pakistani and Indian capitals have not been publicly addressed, and, in a notable departure from past practice, both sides have so far exercised considerable restraint in assigning blame to one another.

Security analysts view the dual strikes—on the college and in Islamabad—as intended to spread fear beyond Pakistan’s border regions and to signal that no area is off-limits. The government’s response appears to blend counter-terror raids with a foreign policy emphasis on cross-border militant sanctuaries.

For now, the immediate focus remains the complete clearance of the college site, de-mining of the campus and ensuring the safe return of students to their homes. The government has vowed further action and urged Afghanistan’s authorities to act against militant groups using its territory.