ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces have killed nearly 30 TTP terrorists in a series of coordinated operations across the Kurram and Orakzai districts in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said Thursday. The actions targeted the network responsible for the martyrdom of Wing Commander Colonel Junaid Tariq and other soldiers earlier this week.
According to official sources, the military launched intelligence-based operations (IBOs) after receiving credible reports that the perpetrators were hiding in the mountainous region near the Afghan border. All key members of the group involved in the earlier attacks have been “eliminated,” officials confirmed.
The counterterrorism campaign comes a day after two separate IBOs in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa left three officers and eleven Pakistani soldiers martyred. The operations were part of a broader crackdown against TTP terrorists operating from border regions.
Pakistan military media Wing, ISPR, confirmed the operations and said that the latest operation in Jamal Maya, Orakzai District, was part of a continuing series of “retribution operations” launched after the October 7 attack that claimed the lives of Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Tariq, Major Tayyab Rahat, and other soldiers.
“During the conduct of operation, based on credible intelligence, in the general area Jamal Maya, Orakzai District, after intense fire exchanges, all thirty Indian sponsored khwarij involved in the Terrorist incident have been sent to hell,” ISPR said.
The successful strikes had “brought the main perpetrators to justice,” while subsequent sanitization operations were underway to eliminate any remaining terrorists in the area, ISPR added.
Government’s “All-Out War” Against Terrorism
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, addressing a cabinet meeting in Islamabad, reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to root out terrorism once and for all. He said the government would now pursue an “all-out war” against extremist elements threatening national peace and stability.
“The nation’s sacrifices will not go in vain,” Sharif said, adding that Pakistan would not tolerate terrorism or those who support it. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif echoed similar concerns, warning that sanctuaries for terrorists inside Afghanistan pose a grave threat to regional peace.
Asif told parliament that Pakistan had repeatedly urged Kabul to dismantle these safe havens but had received no firm guarantees. “We told Afghan officials that 6,000 to 7,000 individuals on your soil pose a threat to us,” he said. “This situation has become unbearable.”
With tensions rising over cross-border militancy, Islamabad has urged Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to act decisively against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Despite extensive border fencing, officials say the rugged terrain still allows infiltration by armed groups.
The Pakistan Army reiterated its determination to continue operations “until the country is rid of Indian-sponsored terrorism,” paying tribute to the soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice. “These sacrifices further strengthen our national resolve against militancy,” the military said.
