By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The security forces killed four militants linked to an Indian-backed group in an overnight operation in the northwestern district of Lakki Marwat, the military said on Thursday, amid a surge in attacks in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The operation, based on intelligence reports of the presence of militants from the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan – referred to by authorities as Fitna al Khawarij – involved an intense exchange of fire, according to a statement from the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) wing. “During conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, four khawarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR statement said. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, who had been actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area, it added.
The military said a sanitisation operation was underway to clear any remaining militants from the site, vowing that security forces and law enforcement agencies would continue efforts at full pace to eliminate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari praised the security forces for the successful operation, according to separate statements reported by state-run Radio Pakistan. “The entire nation stands with Pakistan’s armed forces in this war against terrorism,” Sharif was quoted as saying. He expressed the government’s firm resolve to eradicate all forms of terrorism, noting that security forces continued to achieve significant successes under the Azm-i-Istehkam vision.
Zardari, in his statement, said: “The relentless efforts of the security forces and law enforcement agencies under the vision of Azm-i-Istehkam are commendable.” He reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to the fight against terrorism until its complete eradication and reiterated that the entire nation stood united with its security forces in safeguarding peace and stability.
The Lakki Marwat operation came days after a suicide bombing using an explosive-laden vehicle targeted a checkpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, killing 11 security personnel, the ISPR said earlier. Security forces retaliated in that incident, eliminating 12 militants as they attempted to flee, according to the military. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has experienced a sharp rise in militant attacks over the past year. Fatalities in the province climbed from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025, marking a 44% year-on-year increase and accounting for more than 82% of the national rise in violence, according to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).
Pakistan has long accused neighbouring India of supporting militant groups operating across the border, a charge New Delhi denies. The two nuclear-armed rivals have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
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