By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed seven militants in a raid in North Waziristan, state media reported on Friday, the latest in a run of operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the country endures its worst spell of militant violence in more than a decade.
State-run Radio Pakistan, citing unnamed security sources, said the intelligence-based operation took place in the Eidak area of the district, which borders Afghanistan. Troops “pursued” the militants “with determination and combat skills” and destroyed their hideouts, the broadcaster said.
The dead were described as members of Fitna al-Khawarij, the official label for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban. The reports gave no names for the dead and did not say whether any soldiers were killed or wounded. The account could not be independently verified, as access to the area is tightly restricted and information on such operations comes almost entirely from the military and state media.
President Asif Ali Zardari praised the operation in a statement from his office. “Under the Azm-i-Istehkam initiative, the efforts of the security forces to completely eliminate terrorism and establish lasting peace are commendable,” he said. Azm-i-Istehkam is the government’s national counter-terrorism campaign.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the operations reflected the professionalism of the security forces and the resolve of the nation, which he said stood “shoulder to shoulder” with them. He said the campaign would continue until the militants were eliminated.
The raid came a day after security sources said six militants were killed in Balochistan’s Kachhi district. They said the militants, described as belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan, the term used for the Balochistan Liberation Army and affiliated groups, were targeted using quadcopters in the Sani area under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna 3.
Pakistan recorded its highest monthly number of militant attacks in 12 years in September, according to local media. The monthly figures from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) for September were not yet available.
The think tank’s earlier data points to a steep deterioration. It recorded 199 militant attacks nationwide in August, up 38 per cent on July’s 144. Mainland Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which excludes the former tribal districts, saw 54 attacks in August against 36 in July, a rise of 50 per cent.
July itself was the deadliest month of 2026, with at least 606 people killed in militant attacks and counter-militancy operations, including 112 security personnel, according to PICSS. The think tank also recorded eight suicide attacks that month, the most in a single month in a decade.
The past weeks have brought a steady rhythm of violence in the province. On Monday, four militants were killed in an operation in Dera Ismail Khan. On 29 September, five were killed in Bara, in Khyber district, with a large quantity of weapons and ammunition recovered. A day later, three more were killed in Mir Ali. In Balochistan’s Chagai district on 29 September, security forces said they killed two militants who had set a water tanker on fire and were allegedly behind arson attacks along the N-40 highway.
Militants have also inflicted heavy losses. Last week, 12 people were killed and 35 injured when a suicide bomber struck a joint police checkpoint near Aman Mela in Darazinda tehsil, Dera Ismail Khan. The TTP claimed responsibility.
On 18 September, 23 people, among them 15 police officers, were killed in a bombing and armed assault at a mosque inside the Police Lines in Kohat during Friday prayers. About 100 others were wounded. Eight attackers were killed in an overnight clearance operation. The Ittihadul Mujahideen Pakistan, led by Afghanistan-based Hafiz Gul Bahadur, claimed responsibility.
In a separate clash in Hangu district, six security personnel, including a captain and a lieutenant, were killed in an exchange of fire in which eight militants also died. On 1 September, six personnel, two of them officers, and a customs official were killed as security forces thwarted an attempt to storm the Customs House in Balochistan.
Earlier in the month, security forces said they killed more than 20 militants in engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between 3 and 5 September, and 10 more between 15 and 17 September.
In July, at least 30 people, including 27 police officers, were killed when militants ambushed police in the Kach Mangi area of Ziarat in Balochistan, triggering hours-long gun battles. The attackers also abducted several civilians and police personnel. The army, Frontier Corps and Balochistan Police launched a joint operation that remains under way.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in cross-border militancy, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad says militants plan attacks from Afghan soil, an accusation the Taliban authorities have rejected.
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