Rawalpindi, October 30,2025: Security forces have killed four terrorists, including a top commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and key figure of Fitna al-Khawarij, during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Bajaur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted on the night of October 29–30 after security forces detected the movement of a group of terrorists attempting to infiltrate Pakistan from across the Pak-Afghan border.
“Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted the Khawarij’s attempt to infiltrate,” the ISPR said. “As a result of precise and skilful engagement, four terrorists, including the high-value target Amjad alias Mazahim, were sent to hell.”
The statement described Amjad as “second-in-command to Kharji Noor Wali and head of the Rehbari Shura of the Indian proxy group Fitna al-Khawarij.” He was one of the most wanted militants in Pakistan, with a bounty of Rs5 million on his head. The ISPR said Amjad had been actively involved in orchestrating and facilitating numerous terrorist activities inside Pakistan while residing in Afghanistan.
A sanitisation operation is now underway to ensure the complete elimination of any remaining militants in the area, the statement added. It reaffirmed that under the counterterrorism vision “Azm-e-Istehkam”, security forces and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) would continue their efforts to eradicate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.
The ISPR further stated that the TTP leadership, operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, has been attempting cross-border infiltrations “to project an impression of domestic presence and raise the diminishing morale of their cadres in Bajaur and Mohmand.”
“It is once again reiterated that the interim Afghan government must take concrete measures to ensure Afghan soil is not used by these proxies to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan,” the statement read, reiterating Islamabad’s stance that Afghan territory continues to serve as a safe haven for anti-Pakistan militants.
“The security forces remain resolute and unwavering in their commitment to defend the nation’s frontiers,” the ISPR concluded.
The Bajaur operation came just hours after security forces killed 18 India-backed terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan in two separate IBOs in Balochistan.
According to the ISPR, an operation was launched in the Chiltan Mountains of Quetta district following reports of terrorist presence. “During the engagement, own troops effectively targeted the terrorists’ location, and after an intense exchange of fire, 14 India-sponsored terrorists were neutralised,” the statement said.
In a separate IBO in Buleda, Kech district, security forces destroyed a terrorist hideout and killed four more militants.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to curb militant groups operating from its territory.
However, the Afghan Taliban regime has largely ignored Pakistan’s concerns and, earlier this month, resorted to unprovoked firing along the border on October 12. Pakistan’s armed forces retaliated strongly, killing over 200 Taliban fighters and affiliated militants, though 23 Pakistani soldiers were also martyred in the clashes.
Following retaliatory strikes inside Afghanistan, including in Kabul, hostilities subsided after Pakistan accepted a temporary ceasefire at the Taliban regime’s request on October 17. Subsequent talks mediated by Qatar in Doha led to a formal ceasefire agreement.
A second round of talks, hosted by Turkiye in Istanbul beginning October 25, ended inconclusively after four days. Pakistani officials said the Taliban delegation’s arguments were “illogical and detached from ground realities.”
