By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed 19 militants in three separate operations in the northwest this week, the military said Thursday, as the country battles a surge in cross-border attacks blamed on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The TTP, labeled “khwarij” by Islamabad, an early-Islamic term for rebels who brand other Muslims apostates, has escalated attacks in recent years. Pakistani officials frequently accuse the TTP and groups like the Baloch Liberation Army of receiving Indian support, a claim New Delhi rejects.
“On 9-10 September, nineteen Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij were sent to hell in three separate engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province,” the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the militants, who were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities,” it added.
The operations, based on intelligence, targeted Mohmand, North Waziristan, and Bannu districts. In Mohmand’s Guluno area, 14 militants were killed in a fierce firefight. Four others were neutralised in Datta Khel, North Waziristan, and one in Bannu, the ISPR said.
“Sanitisation operations are continuing to eliminate any remaining militants,” the statement read, reaffirming the military’s commitment to eradicating “Indian-sponsored terrorism.”
President Asif Ali Zardari hailed the operations, praising the “courage and professionalism” of Pakistan’s forces. “Pakistan will pursue militants until every last terrorist and their facilitators are brought to justice,” he said.
In a separate operation, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) killed four militants in Pishin, Balochistan, on Thursday, officials confirmed. A gun battle erupted during the raid, with two machine guns, two 9mm pistols, two hand grenades, explosives, and detonators recovered.
Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti praised the CTD, saying it had foiled a major terrorist plot. “The services of CTD and other security agencies in restoring peace across Balochistan are commendable,” he said, stressing that ensuring a peaceful environment remains the government’s priority.
Pakistan has faced a surge in cross-border attacks since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. A report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) noted a 74% rise in militant attacks in August compared to July, with 194 fatalities.
Government officials revealed that over 8,000 Fitna al-Khawarij are active in KP, having infiltrated from Afghanistan via porous border routes. They operate in Peshawar, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Swat, Shangla, and merged districts, setting up checkpoints on key routes like the CPEC Road and DI Khan-Bannu Road, and blending into local populations to target security forces.
A KP police report recorded 605 terror incidents in the province from January to August 2025, resulting in 138 civilian deaths and 352 injuries. Additionally, 79 police personnel were killed and 130 wounded.
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