By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The security forces killed 34 militants in a series of high-tempo, intelligence-driven operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces over the past several days, the military said on Wednesday.
The operations targeted groups the state labels as Indian proxies: 26 members of Fitna al-Khwarij, the term used for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in the northwest, and eight from Fitna al-Hindustan, referring to Baloch separatist organizations, in the southwest. The announcement comes as Islamabad contends with a marked increase in militant activity, much of which it attributes to militants with cross-border sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, the Feb. 24 engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa unfolded in four separate incidents. In North Waziristan district, troops intercepted a group attempting to infiltrate from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing one fighter identified as an Afghan national. In Lakki Marwat district, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation that led to an intense firefight and the deaths of three militants. Ten more were killed in the Narmi Khel area of Bannu district, while another 12 died in operations around Mir Ali in North Waziristan.
Separately, in Balochistan’s Zhob district, troops carried out an operation in the Sambaza area. After a heavy exchange of fire, eight militants belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan were neutralized, the ISPR said. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the sites, and the military described the dead as actively involved in terrorist activities in their respective regions.
The ISPR emphasised that the actions reflect the security forces’ “resolute and unwavering” commitment to defending Pakistan’s frontiers. Sanitisation operations continue, it said, as part of a broader counterterrorism campaign under the “Azm-i-Istehkam” framework endorsed by the government’s apex committee on national security. Security forces and law enforcement agencies will continue to act against terrorism at full pace, the statement added.
The operations follow an earlier sweep this week in which nine terrorists, including a suicide bomber, were killed in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They also come against the backdrop of heightened cross-border friction. Late last week, Pakistan conducted airstrikes on militant camps in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces, saying more than 100 fighters killed. Afghanistan accused Pakistan of violating its sovereignty and causing civilian casualties.
Pakistan has long alleged that Afghan soil is used as a launching pad for attacks inside its territory, a charge Kabul rejects, insisting the problem is internal to Pakistan. The two sides clashed along the border as recently as Tuesday, each blaming the other for initiating fire. In October 2025, similar border confrontations resulted in the deaths of more than 200 Taliban and affiliated militants, with 23 Pakistani soldiers also killed.
Militancy has intensified markedly since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) shows attacks in Pakistan nearly quadrupled to 2,425 last year from 658 in 2022, with TTP-linked incidents rising more than sevenfold to 838 from 118. In response, authorities have placed forces on high alert.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said on Wednesday that Pakistan has boosted security, arrested dozens of suspects — including Afghans — and foiled several plots. “Our forces are on high-alert to combat any attacks,” he told Reuters. “You know the militants always react whenever we go after their hideouts in Afghanistan.” Intelligence agencies have warned of potential surges in attacks targeting urban centers, markets, security installations and places of worship, prompting intensified search operations nationwide, officials said.
The latest militant actions inside Pakistan include an ambush on a police vehicle in Kohat that killed five officers and two civilians, and a suicide bombing at a checkpoint that claimed two policemen’s lives. Pakistan also maintains that some of the groups, particularly in Balochistan, receive backing from India. The military vowed to press ahead with efforts to eliminate what it calls foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
