KP Operations: 13 Terrorists Killed in Intelligence-Based Raids, ISPR Says

RAWALPINDI: Security forces have eliminated 13 terrorists in two separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing confirmed on Sunday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Mohmand district targeted the Indian proxy group Fitna al-Khawarij. Seven terrorists were killed after a fierce exchange of fire.

In a second IBO conducted in Bannu district, six more terrorists were neutralised. The ISPR added that sanitisation operations are ongoing to eliminate any remaining militants in the area.

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These operations are part of the Azm-e-Istehkam campaign, approved by the federal apex committee under the National Action Plan.

Terrorist attacks have surged in Pakistan’s border provinces of KP and Balochistan since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan has repeatedly called on the Afghan Taliban to prevent its territory from being used to launch attacks against Pakistan, but tensions have persisted, including cross-border strikes and retaliations.

Recently, a meeting of Afghan scholars at Kabul University stressed that Afghanistan’s soil should not be used to threaten or harm any other nation. Islamabad welcomed the resolution as a positive step, while noting that previous commitments by the Afghan Taliban had not been honoured.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi reiterated on December 11 that Pakistan continues to demand written assurances from Kabul that Afghan territory will not be used by terrorist groups against Pakistan.