By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The security forces have killed 17 militants in a targeted operation in the restive North Waziristan district near the Afghanistan border, the military said on Monday, marking the latest escalation in a three-day counter-terrorism offensive that has left 71 terrorists dead.
The operation, described by the military’s media wing as a “deliberate sanitisation” effort, took place in the Hassan Khel area of North Waziristan, a region long plagued by insurgent activity.
“During the conduct of the operation, seventeen more khawarij, who were operating [at] behest of their Indian masters, were hunted down and successfully neutralised,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, using a term often employed by Pakistani authorities to designate Taliban militants.
It added that troops recovered a cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives during the raid.
The operation follows a separate engagement a day earlier in which 54 militants were killed while attempting to infiltrate from Afghanistan. The military said the cumulative toll marked the highest number of militants neutralized in a single anti-infiltration operation since Islamabad’s counter-terrorism campaign began. “The number of khwarij killed in three days anti [infiltration] operation has risen to 71,” it added.
The ISPR said the security forces remain committed to securing the nation’s frontiers and thwart attempts at sabotaging the peace, stability and progress of Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif separately praised the military’s efforts, vowing to sustain operations until terrorism is “completely eradicated.”
Zardari called the operations “commendable,” while Sharif asserted that the killings demonstrated security forces’ “full determination” to root out militancy. “We will continue to thwart the nefarious designs of these enemies of humanity,” the prime minister said.
The operations come amid a surge in violence across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces, following the collapse of a ceasefire between the government and the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in November 2022.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government of sheltering TTP fighters, allegations supported by a January United Nations report citing “logistical and financial” aid to the group from Afghan soil.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a porous 2,500-kilometer border, a focal point for regional security concerns. Islamabad has urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by groups like the TTP, which it designates as Fitna Al Khawarij.
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