- IBO conducted on reported presence of India-backed terrorists: ISPR.
- Says arms and ammunition recovered from slain khawarij.
- Military pledges to continue relentless efforts against terrorism.
Security forces neutralized four India-sponsored terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.
The IBO was conducted on February 23 following the reported presence of “khwarij belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij,” the military’s media wing said.
It added that troops effectively engaged the location of the terrorists and killed them after an intense exchange of fire during the operation.
Arms and ammunition were also recovered from the slain terrorists who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area.
A clearance operation was launched to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored terrorists found in the area, the ISPR statement said.
“The relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision of ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ (as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by the security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full speed to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, five terrorists were killed in another IBO in Balochistan’s Pishin district, ISPR said earlier today.
The military’s media wing said the troops effectively engaged “entire tashkeel with multiple weapons”, resulting in an intense exchange of fire.
After that, a suicide bomber cowardly blew himself up and four other India-sponsored khwarij “were hunted down and sent to hell”.
Arms, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the militants, who remained actively involved in several terrorist activities in the area.
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has seen an increase in cross-border terrorist activity, particularly in the provinces of KP and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.
Amid rising terrorist incidents, Pakistan last Saturday carried out intelligence-based strikes targeting seven terrorist camps and hideouts of Fitna al Khawarij (FAK), its affiliates and Daesh-Khorasan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to recent suicide attacks.
The airstrikes were carried out in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces of Afghanistan, the security sources said, adding that more than 80 militants were killed in the airstrikes.
Back in October 2025, the two countries were also involved in border clashes after the Afghan Taliban and militants launched unprovoked attacks on Pakistan’s border posts.
The resulting clashes led to the killing of over 200 Taliban and associated militants, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred defending the motherland.
Despite many rounds of negotiations, however, both countries failed to reach an agreement due to the reluctance of the Afghan Taliban regime to take action against terrorist equipment.
