The military’s media wing on Thursday announced security forces had killed 34 “khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al-Khwarij” during three separate engagements in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province from Oct. 13-15.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that in the first instance, security forces had conducted an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the general area of Spinwam, North Waziristan district. During the operation, troops effectively engaged the khwarij location, sending 18 of them “to hell” after an intense exchange of fire.
The second IBO was conducted in South Waziristan district. During the ensuing exchange of fire, eight khwarij were neutralized, it said. The third encounter occurred in Bannu district, with troops successfully neutralizing eight more Khwarij.
According to the ISPR, sanitization operations are ongoing to eliminate any other Indian sponsored Kharji in the area. It vowed that the security forces’ and law enforcement agencies’ ongoing counter-terrorism campaign, under Vision Azm-e-Istehkam as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan, would continue to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.
The operations occurred amidst heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban to prevent the use of their soil for terrorist groups acting against Pakistan. The interim Afghan government, however, describes the infiltration of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants into Pakistan as an “internal” matter for Islamabad. It has thus far failed to take any action against the terrorists.
This week, Kabul’s forces staged several unprovoked attacks on border posts in Pakistan, triggering a back-and-forth that only ended after both countries agreed to a 48-hour temporary ceasefire on the request of the Afghan government.