11 India-linked militants killed in two intelligence-based operations in Pakistan

PARBATTA NEWS DESK

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday that security forces killed 11 militants in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dawn.com reported.

In a statement, the military’s media wing said the operations were carried out on Jan 8 and that the militants belonged to “Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij”.

“Fitna al Khawarij” is a term Pakistani authorities use for militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to ISPR, an IBO was conducted in the North Waziristan district after reports of militant presence. During the operation, troops engaged the militants and six were killed following an “intense fire exchange”.

“A joint IBO by police and security forces was also conducted in Kurram district. In the ensuing fire exchange, five khawarij were effectively neutralised,” the statement said.

ISPR said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the dead militants, who it claimed were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces, law enforcement agencies and the target killing of innocent civilians”.

It added that sanitisation operations were under way to eliminate any remaining militants in the area, and said the counterterrorism campaign would continue at “full pace” to “wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the “professional capabilities of the armed forces” for the operations.

“We will continue the war against terrorism until it is completely eliminated,” he said, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

He added that Pakistan’s armed forces, along with police, remained engaged in combating what he described as the country’s enemies.

“The entire nation, including myself, stands shoulder to shoulder with the security forces in their unwavering resolve to protect the homeland,” he said.

President Asif Ali Zardari also praised the security forces, saying their role in protecting lives and property was “commendable”, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

Despite record militant deaths, Pakistan saw a sharp escalation in militant violence in 2025, with attacks rising 34 percent and terrorism-related fatalities increasing 21 percent year on year, according to a report by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

Earlier this week, ISPR Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies — including the army, police, Federal Constabulary and intelligence agencies — carried out a total of 75,175 IBOs in 2025.