Rawalpindi (GNP): Security forces have carried out a series of intelligence-based operations targeting multiple militant positions in the general area of Miran Shah, North Waziristan District, resulting in the elimination of 27 militants affiliated with the Indian-sponsored Fitna-al-Khwarij network over a 72-hour period.
The operations, conducted through sustained engagement across several locations, also yielded the recovery of weapons and ammunition from the slain militants, who had been actively implicated in numerous terrorist activities and the targeted killing of civilians in the region. Authorities confirmed that the elimination of this particular group serves as direct retribution for the assassination of prominent figure Shaheed Malik Saifullah Dawar in Miranshah, with those responsible now brought to account.
Sanitization operations are ongoing as security forces work to clear remaining militants from the area. The counter-terrorism campaign, being conducted under the “Azm-e-Istehkam” vision as sanctioned by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, is set to continue at full intensity until foreign-sponsored terrorism is comprehensively rooted out from Pakistani soil.
The latest operation follows a similar engagement last week in which security forces eliminated 22 terrorists during a sanitization operation in the same district.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi praised the professionalism and operational effectiveness of the security forces, specifically commending their performance in the intelligence-based operation conducted in North Waziristan’s Datta Khel area against India-backed terrorist elements.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif separately lauded the forces for neutralizing 11 Indian-backed Fitna al-Khawarij militants in the region, paying tribute to their dedication and sacrifice. Both leaders emphasized that operations targeting terrorist networks operating under Indian patronage are indispensable for the protection of national security.
“The war against the menace of terrorism will press forward until it is fully and permanently eradicated from Pakistani soil,” both leaders affirmed in their respective statements.
ISPR had earlier in the week reported the killing of an additional 22 India-sponsored militants in North Waziristan, pointing to a marked intensification of counter-terrorism operations across the region.
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Security challenges persist in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where security forces and law enforcement agencies continue to face militant threats. The state has responded by scaling up intelligence-driven operations under the national counter-terrorism framework. Last week, a major-ranked officer was among five soldiers martyred during a clearance operation in Balochistan’s Barkhan district. A follow-up operation in the area resulted in the arrest of three commanders from Balochistan-based militant organizations and the elimination of 35 operatives, according to provincial authorities.
Earlier this month, five militants were killed in separate engagements in KP’s Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts, while eight others were neutralized along the Pak-Afghan border in North Waziristan during early April.
According to a recent report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, verified terrorist incidents dropped to 85 in April compared to 146 in March — a decline of approximately 42 percent. Related fatalities also fell, from 106 to 60, extending a downward trend that had begun the previous month.
Analysts attribute part of this improvement to Pakistan’s cross-border military campaign against militant groups and Taliban positions, which ran from late February through mid-March. That campaign was subsequently followed by a ceasefire arrangement and diplomatic talks held in Urumqi, China.
