ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces have killed 22 Indian sponsored terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a military statement said on Thursday.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, said that on 26 November 2025, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on the reported presence of Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij.
In Pakistan, the term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by the government and military to refer to extremist and banned terrorist organisations, most prominently the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location, and after an intense fire exchange, twenty-two khwarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR statement added.
The ISPR further stated that “sanitisation operations are underway in both districts to clear the area of any remaining terrorists.”
The ISPR reiterated that Pakistan’s counterterrorism campaign under the “Azm-e-Istehkam” framework — approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan — will continue “at full pace” to eliminate foreign-sponsored terrorism.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of allowing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate freely from Afghan territory. Officials say the TTP has become fully operational across the border, posing a serious threat to Pakistan’s internal security.
The group has long used Afghanistan as a sanctuary, but its freedom has expanded significantly since the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2021.
TTP fighters and their families are now based in eastern provinces such as Khost, Paktika, Paktia, and Kunar — areas that have become staging grounds for attacks inside Pakistan.
