ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces have killed 25 militants and injured 11 others in a series of intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that have lasted for about a week, an official statement announced on Tuesday.
Pakistan’s restive northwest has experienced a surge in militant attacks since November 2022, when a fragile ceasefire between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down.
The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), issued the statement about the encounters with militants just a day after the country saw another wave of separatist violence in southwestern Balochistan, where a series of coordinated attacks claimed over 50 lives within hours.
The government has vowed to take action against armed groups targeting civilians and security forces, with the military continuing its operations to maintain security in the two western provinces.
“Security Forces are conducting extensive Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) in Tirah, Khyber District against … so called Laskar-e-Islam and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar [groups],” the ISPR informed.
“During these daring and highly successful IBOs being conducted since 20 August 2024, Security Forces have so far successfully neutralized twenty-five Khwarij [militants], including … ring leader Abuzar [alias] Saddam,” it continued, adding that 11 militants had also been injured.
The ISPR also mentioned that four Pakistani soldiers also lost their lives in these encounters with the militants.
It added the heavy losses inflicted on militants reflected the valor and commitment of the security forces to eliminate the militant violence from the country.
Security forces kill 25 militants in week-long operations in northwestern Pakistan
https://arab.news/gtq5g
Security forces kill 25 militants in week-long operations in northwestern Pakistan
- The intelligence-based operations were launched in Khyber district on August 20
- Security forces lost four soldiers during the encounters with militants in the area
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
