PESHAWAR: Twenty-one terrorists belonging to the Indian-sponsored Fitna Al-Khwarij were killed in multiple engagements across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between September 3 and 5, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations .
The security forces conducted several operations targeting terrorists groups operating in different districts of the province, with the latest engagements taking place along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan.
According to the ISPR, following a successful engagement by security forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan on the night of August 31 and September 1, 10 more terrorists who had remained concealed in the area were killed. This brought the total number of terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Pakistan and subsequently neutralised by security forces to 25.
In another engagement in North Waziristan, security forces detected the movement of another group of terrorists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Troops engaged the group effectively, resulting in the killing of seven militants, the military’s media wing said.
Four more militants were killed in two separate encounters in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan districts during joint operations conducted by security forces and law-enforcement agencies.
The repeated incidents along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, according to the ISPR, have reinforced Pakistan’s concerns regarding the Afghan Taliban government’s failure to prevent the use of Afghan territory for cross-border terrorism.
The ISPR said the Afghan Taliban government had also failed to ensure effective border management and meet its international counter-terrorism obligations.
Security forces remain committed to protecting Pakistan’s territorial frontiers, the statement said, adding that sanitisation operations are continuing in the affected areas to locate and eliminate any remaining militants.
The operations are being conducted as part of the country’s ongoing counter-terrorism campaign under Azm-e-Istehkam, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan. According to the ISPR, security forces and law-enforcement agencies will continue operations to counter what Pakistan describes as foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism.
