Islamabad, November 10, 2025: Security forces have neutralised at least 20 terrorists in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the military’s media wing said on Monday.
According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operations, carried out between November 8 and 9, targeted militants belonging to the Indian proxy outfit Fitna al-Khwarij.
The first engagement took place in Shawal, North Waziristan, where troops “effectively engaged the terrorists’ hideout,” killing eight Indian-sponsored militants, the statement said.
In another operation in Dara Adam Khel, 12 more terrorists were killed after a fierce exchange of fire. Security forces later launched sanitisation operations in the surrounding areas to eliminate any remaining threats.
“The security forces remain fully committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said, adding that the ongoing counterterrorism campaign ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan (NAP), would continue at full pace to dismantle foreign-sponsored militant networks.
Pakistan has witnessed a resurgence in terror incidents, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Since then, militants have launched hundreds of cross-border attacks, claiming the lives of both civilians and security personnel.
During the first eight months of 2025, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded over 600 terror incidents, resulting in the martyrdom of at least 138 civilians and 79 police officials, according to official data.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban government to prevent its territory from being used for attacks inside Pakistan. The ongoing cross-border militancy also triggered tense border clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces in October, culminating in retaliatory strikes by Pakistan on October 12 that targeted multiple Taliban positions along the frontier.
Pakistan’s response reportedly killed over 200 Afghan Taliban fighters and affiliated militants, while 23 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom during the clashes.
The Pakistani military also destroyed several terrorist strongholds in Kandahar and Kabul provinces through precision strikes. Hostilities between the two sides later subsided following a ceasefire agreement requested by the Afghan Taliban regime.
