‘Face Us If You Are A Man’: Pakistani Taliban Challenges Army Chief Asim Munir

New Delhi: The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has released a video from inside Pakistan in which a senior commander openly challenged Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, daring him to “face us if you are a man” and accusing the military of sending soldiers to their deaths. The footage — circulated widely on social media on Thursday — comes after the TTP claimed responsibility for a large-scale ambush in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in early October in which it claims 25 Pakistani soldiers were killed.

In the clip, a TTP commander directly addresses Munir, deriding the army leadership as cowardly and urging the chief to come to frontline areas rather than dispatching troops. “You should face us… instead of sending your soldiers like sheep and goats, you yourself come, so that we may make you taste the flavour of wars,” the speaker says, according to translations of the video. The footage also showed scenes from the October ambush and material the group says were captured from government forces. 

The militant group has publicly claimed high casualties. Several Pakistani officials, however, have reported significantly lower figures and authorities have not corroborated the higher TTP tally.

The video appears intended to deliver multiple messages, including showcasing the TTP’s battlefield claims, and emboldening recruitment and support by publicising captured equipment and alleged victories. The release comes amid heightened tensions along Pakistan’s western frontier, where militants have exploited porous border zones and complex local loyalties.

So far, there has been no public, detailed rebuttal from the Pakistan Army to the video’s challenge beyond routine statements blaming cross-border sanctuaries and vowing action against militant hideouts.

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