ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces on Thursday killed eight militants and arrested five others in two separate intelligence-based operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army’s media wing said in a statement.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the first operation was conducted in the Jani Khel area of the Bannu district in which six militants were killed and five were taken into custody.
The second operation was carried out in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan district, killing two militants after an intense exchange of fire.
Datta Khel was part of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of the country which were later merged with the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018. The area used to be a stronghold of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants who carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani security forces.
The TTP is distinct from the Afghan Taliban, though its leaders have taken oath of allegiance to the administration in Kabul.
“On 21 September 2023, security forces conducted intelligence-based operations in two districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which resulted in the killing of eight terrorists and the apprehension of five terrorists and their facilitators,” the ISPR said.
It added the slain militants from Bannu were involved in numerous “terrorist” activities against the security forces, including the facilitation of a motorcycle-borne suicide attack on a military convoy in Jani Khel on August 23, in which nine soldiers were killed.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed terrorists, [while] the sanitization of the surrounding areas is being carried out to neutralize any other terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR statement added. “Security forces of Pakistan remain determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism.”
Militancy in Pakistan witnessed a significant decline due to the army’s operations conducted in these areas in the past.
Following the return of Afghan Taliban to power in 2021, however, there has been a significant increase in attacks in regions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
This surge was primarily witnessed after a fragile truce between the TTP and the government in Islamabad collapsed in November last year.
Security forces kill eight militants, detain five in northwest Pakistan — army
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Security forces kill eight militants, detain five in northwest Pakistan — army
- Pakistan army says militants were killed in two separate operations in Bannu and North Waziristan districts
- It maintains these militants were involved in numerous ‘terrorist’ activities against the country’s security forces
Pakistan’s OGDC ramps up unconventional gas plans
- Pakistan has long been viewed as having potential in tight and shale gas but commercial output has yet to be proved
- OGDC says has tripled tight-gas study area to 4,500 square km after new seismic, reservoir analysis indicates potential
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s state-run Oil & Gas Development Company is planning a major expansion of unconventional gas developments from early next year, aiming to boost production and reduce reliance on imported liquefied natural gas.
Pakistan has long been viewed as having potential in both tight and shale gas, which are trapped in rock and can only be released with specialized drilling, but commercial output has yet to be proved.
Managing Director Ahmed Lak told Reuters that OGDC had tripled its tight-gas study area to 4,500 square kilometers (1,737 square miles) after new seismic and reservoir analysis indicated larger potential. Phase two of a technical evaluation will finish by end-January, followed by full development plans.
The renewed push comes after US President Donald Trump said Pakistan held “massive” oil reserves in July, a statement analysts said lacked credible geological evidence, but which prompted Islamabad to underscore that it is pursuing its own efforts to unlock unconventional resources.
“We started with 85 wells, but the footprint has expanded massively,” Lak said, adding that OGDC’s next five-year plan would look “drastically different.”
Early results point to a “significant” resource across parts of Sindh and Balochistan, where multiple reservoirs show tight-gas characteristics, he said.
SHALE PILOT RAMPS UP
OGDC is also fast-tracking its shale program, shifting from a single test well to a five- to six-well plan in 2026–27, with expected flows of 3–4 million standard cubic feet per day (mmcfd) per well.
If successful, the development could scale to hundreds or even more than 1,000 wells, Lak said.
He said shale alone could eventually add 600 mmcfd to 1 billion standard cubic feet per day of incremental supply, though partners would be needed if the pilot proves viable.
The company is open to partners “on a reciprocal basis,” potentially exchanging acreage abroad for participation in Pakistan, he said.
A 2015 US Energy Information Administration study estimated Pakistan had 9.1 billion barrels of technically recoverable shale oil, the largest such resource outside China and the United States.
A 2022 assessment found parts of the Indus Basin geologically comparable to North American shale plays, though analysts say commercial viability still hinges on better geomechanical data, expanded fracking capacity and water availability.
OGDC plans to begin drilling a deep-water offshore well in the Indus Basin, known as the Deepal prospect, in the fourth quarter of 2026, Lak said. In October, Turkiye’s TPAO with PPL and its consortium partners, including OGDC, were awarded a block for offshore exploration.
A combination of weak gas demand, rising solar uptake and a rigid LNG import schedule has created a surplus of gas that forced OGDC to curb output and pushed Pakistan to divert cargoes from Italy’s ENI and seek revised terms with Qatar.
