Security forces have killed 18 terrorists in separate engagements in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and southwestern Balochistan province, state media reported on Wednesday, citing security sources.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13 members of the group the state refers to as Fitna al-Khawarij were killed during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan, Pakistan Television reported.
The operation came as security forces continued military action against militant groups under the Azm-e-Istehkam strategy, says DAWN.
In a separate operation in Balochistan’s Mastung district, security forces killed five terrorists belonging to what the state calls Fitna al-Hindustan, Pakistan Television reported.
The security forces also recovered heavy weapons and ammunition from the slain terrorists, while clearance and search operations were continuing under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna 3, state media said.
The term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by the Pakistani state for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
The state uses the term Fitna al-Hindustan for Balochistan-based terrorist groups, seeking to highlight what it alleges is India’s role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for the operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, according to Radio Pakistan.
Zardari said the operations were “a clear expression of the firm resolve against terrorist elements”.
Sharif, in a separate statement, said operations against Fitna al-Khawarij would continue until terrorism was completely eliminated and lasting peace established in the country.
He said terrorists seeking to undermine Pakistan’s peace and security would not be allowed to succeed in their “nefarious designs”.
Rising violence in KP and Balochistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have long faced militant violence and security challenges.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, excluding its merged districts, recorded 54 terrorist attacks in August, up from 36 in July, an increase of 50 per cent, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, or PICSS.
The latest operations follow a series of engagements in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent weeks.
A day earlier, security forces killed five terrorists during another intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan, state media reported.
On October 2, seven terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan.
Three more were killed in an operation in Mir Ali on September 30, while five terrorists were killed a day earlier in an intelligence-based operation in the Bara area.
On September 28, four terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan.
Militant attacks have also caused significant civilian casualties in the province.
On September 26, a suicide bombing targeting the Aman Mela police checkpost in the Darazinda tehsil of Dera Ismail Khan killed 12 people and wounded 35 others.
On September 18, a major attack on the old Police Lines in Kohat killed 23 people and wounded about 100. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation.
Between September 15 and 17, security forces killed 10 terrorists in separate operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Earlier that month, more than 20 terrorists were killed in multiple engagements between September 3 and 5.
Balochistan has also experienced a rise in militant activity.
In the province’s Chagai district, security forces killed two terrorists on September 29.
The military’s media affairs wing said on September 27 that more than 71 terrorists had been killed in Shaban and other areas of Balochistan during the preceding 96 hours.
On September 17, three terrorists were killed during an intelligence-based operation in the Badrang area of Awaran district. Another three were killed in Mastung on September 14.
Earlier in September, 21 terrorists were killed in separate engagements in Nokcha, Chagai, Ziarat Cross and Pishin, according to state media reports.
The number of terrorist attacks in Balochistan rose by seven per cent, from 83 in July to 89 in August, according to PICSS’s monthly assessment.
The report described Balochistan as the province “most affected” by terrorism.
