- 240 terrorist incidents reported in KP before operation.
- 80 incidents recorded since Operation Ghazab lil-Haq launch.
- KP’s chief secretary says all stakeholders on the same page.
PESHAWAR: Terrorist incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have dropped by 65% following the launch of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against terrorists and their support infrastructure in neighboring Afghanistan, police said on Saturday.
According to a report prepared by the KP police, 240 incidents of terrorism were reported this year in the province before the operation began, while 80 incidents have been recorded since its launch.
A total of 323 terrorist incidents have been reported so far this year, according to the report.
Security forces launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq last month following the Afghan Taliban regime’s unprovoked aggression along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
As of March 15, officials said security forces killed 684 Afghan Taliban operatives and militants, while wounding more than 912 others.
In a statement at the time, Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said 229 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed during the operation.
Tarar added that operations against Fitna al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban also resulted in 252 positions being destroyed, while 44 others were captured before being demolished.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry said targeting terrorists and their hideouts in Afghanistan helped reduce the number of attacks.
Chaudhry said the government was determined to eliminate terrorism from the country “at any cost”, adding that the masterminds behind major terrorist attacks had been neutralized during the operation.
He also noted that Pakistan had shared intelligence about terrorists and their sanctuaries with the Afghan Taliban regime.
Separately, KP Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah said the security forces’ operation had yielded positive results for law and order in the province.
“Federal and provincial institutions are working together to eradicate terrorism,” he said while addressing Pakinomist news.
Shah reiterated that all stakeholders were on the same page in the fight against terrorism.
Cross-border terrorism
Terrorist attacks inside Pakistan witnessed a sharp rise in KP and Balochistan after Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistan has repeatedly called on Kabul to prevent its soil from being used by terrorist organizations to carry out attacks within its territory.
However, the Afghan Taliban refused to act against terrorist groups involved in countless attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq months after the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in October 2025, following clashes triggered by unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban regime at several border points.
Islamabad said the firing by Afghan forces was aimed at helping terrorist groups cross the border into Pakistan.
After days of border clashes, Islamabad agreed to an initial ceasefire at Kabul’s request. The countries then later reached a ceasefire agreement in Qatar, which was brokered by Doha and Turkiye.
According to the agreement, terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistani soil was to be stopped immediately.
The two sides then held further follow-up discussions in Turkiye, which did not yield the desired results.
