ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces have killed 24 “Indian sponsored” terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a military statement said on Friday.
“On reported presence of khwarij, an intelligence-based operation was conducted by the Security Forces in Orakzai District,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
It added during the conduct of the operation, the troops effectively engaged the khwarij location, and after an intense fire exchange, fourteen khwarij were sent to hell.
The term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by Pakistan’s government and military to refer to the banned terrorist groups, most prominently the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group.
ISPR stated that a separate intelligence-based operation was carried out in the Khyber District, during which a fire exchange resulted in the effective neutralisation of ten additional khwarij.
It added that sanitisation operations are underway to eliminate any remaining foreign-backed terrorists in the region.
This is part of the ongoing Counter-Terrorism campaign under the vision “Azm e Istehkam,” approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan.
The campaign aims to eradicate the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from Pakistan, with security forces and law enforcement agencies committed to continuing their efforts at full pace.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in cross-border terror incidents since Taliban rulers returned to Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
Pakistan said the Afghan Taliban regime’s continued support for terrorist groups had enabled them to carry out attacks against the Pakistan military and civilian population along the Pak-Afghan border and in adjoining areas.
In March 2025, Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with the number of deaths in terrorist attacks rising by 45 percent as compared to the previous year.
In October, the Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies said that violence had surged in the third quarter of 2025 due to a spike in terrorist attacks and intensified counter-terrorism operations.
