- Bajaur operation eliminates 11 terrorists, including key ringleader.
- Bannu operation neutralises 12 more khwarij: military’s media wing.
- ISPR says sanitisation drives continue to hunt remaining militants.
At least 23 terrorists affiliated with Indian proxy Fitna al-Khawarij were killed by security forces in two separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Tuesday.
According to a press release issued by the military’s media wing, the security forces conducted separate operations on November 16 and 17 on the reported presence of terrorists in Bajaur and Bannu districts.
During the operation in Bajaur, the ISPR said, security forces “effectively engaged the khwarij location, resultantly 11 khwarij, including ring leader Sajjad aka Abuzar, were sent to hell.”
“In another operation conducted in Bannu, own troops successfully neutralised 12 more khwarij,” it added.
Furthermore, the ISPR said sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorists found in the area.
“Counter-terrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm e Istehkam’ by security forces and law enforcement agencies will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” it added.
Separately, the military’s media wing said that a militant linked to “Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij” was killed while attempting to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) in Bannu during the early hours of November 18.
The incident, ISPR said, underscored the “growing desperation” of the group as sustained pressure from security forces and law enforcement agencies has pushed militants towards “cowardly attempts against soft targets”.
Earlier in the day, security forces killed at least 15 terrorists, including a ringleader affiliated with Indian proxy Fitna al-Khawarij, in two separate IBOs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The military’s media wing, in a statement, said that the operations took place between November 8 and 9 against the India-backed terrorists.
The operations follow a suicide blast at Islamabad’s Judicial Complex on November 11 that left 12 people martyred and at least 36 wounded, including lawyers and petitioners.
The federal government had arrested four members of a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan/Fitna al-Khawarij (TTP/FAK) cell linked to the suicide attack at the Islamabad District Judicial Complex, G-11.
Pakistan has faced increased cross-border terrorist incidents since the Taliban regime returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
KP and Balochistan, the two bordering provinces, have borne the brunt of these attacks.
KP alone recorded over 600 terror incidents, in which at least 79 police personnel were martyred alongside 138 civilians, during the first eight months of 2025, according to a police report.
Pakistan has consistently urged the Afghan Taliban to abide by the Doha agreement in 2020, in which they committed to not allowing their soil to be used against any country.
