Cadet Arif Ullah martyred in terrorist attack on Lakki Marwat mosque

Cadet Arif Ullah (under training at Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul & on leave at his hometown) embraced martyrdom on Friday when banned terrorists, Khwarij, attacked a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district mosque

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, that Cadet Arif Ullah was also present there, offering prayers in the same mosque. ISPR said that Arif “fought bravely” when terrorists started firing, however, the 19-year-old cadet “embraced Shahadat sacrificing his life while saving many innocent lives of worshippers.”

Also read: PM lauds Punjab Police for killing 10 Khawarij in Mianwali

“Such heinous and cowardly act of attacking worshippers in the mosque while praying reflects the true ideology of these Khwarij. Such valiant act of a young gentleman cadet is a testament of spirit of sacrifice and dedication of security forces’ personnel to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country and such sacrifices further strengthen our resolve.”

The media reports stated that terrorists attacked the mosque during maghrib prayers. In August, the government labelled the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan as Fitna al Khawarij.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies’ annual security report, Pakistan had a disturbing increase in violence in 2023, with 1,524 deaths and 1,463 injuries as a result of 789 terror incidents and counter-terrorism operations. This is the largest number of violence-related deaths in six years. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan ranked as the most violent areas, accounting for more than 90% of all fatalities and 84% of registered attacks, which included both terrorist incidents and security forces operations.