By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: At least 11 militants were killed and two soldiers, including an army major, were martyred in a fierce gun battle on Tuesday in the country’s restive northwest, the military said.
The operation took place in the South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, a rugged and volatile area near the Afghan border. The military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the raid was launched based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of “Indian-sponsored” militants in the area.
During an intense exchange of fire, 11 militants were killed and seven others were injured, according to the ISPR. Two soldiers, Major Moiz Abbas Shah and Lance Naik Jibran Ullah, lost their lives in the shootout.
“Sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in violence in KP since late 2022, when a fragile truce between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, fell apart.
The TTP, a militant group seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state and impose its strict interpretation of Islamic law, has since intensified its campaign against security forces. In recent months, the group and other militants have targeted military convoys and check-posts, carried out targeted killings, and kidnapped law enforcement personnel and government officials in the region.
The incident occurs against a backdrop of longstanding tensions between Pakistan and India, nuclear-armed neighbours that frequently trade accusations of fueling militancy across their shared border. Islamabad has repeatedly claimed that India supports a separatist insurgency in the southwestern province of Balochistan and backs religiously motivated militant groups, such as the Pakistani Taliban, in KP.
In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the fallen soldiers, praising their courage in the face of danger. “Major Moiz Abbas Shah and Lance Naik Jibran Ullah thwarted the evil designs of the enemy,” Sharif said. “We will continue the fight against the scourge of terrorism until it is completely eradicated from the country.”
Sharif also emphasized national solidarity with the armed forces, declaring, “The entire nation, including me, stands by our Pakistani forces in their unwavering resolve to protect the homeland.”
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