ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed 30 militants in three separate engagements in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday, amid a surge in militancy in the region.
Security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in KP’s Lakki Marwat district, in which 18 militants were killed and six others wounded, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
Another operation in the Karak district led to the killing of eight militants, while four others were neutralized in the Khyber district, which borders Afghanistan. Another two militants were injured during the gunfight in Khyber.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed khwarij [militants], who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area against the security forces as well as killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [militant] found in the area.”
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the state broke down in November 2022. The TTP and other militant groups have frequently targeted security forces convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
In 2024 alone, the military reported that 383 soldiers and 925 militants were killed in various clashes.
Saturday’s operations came two weeks after Pakistani security forces killed nine militants in two separate engagements in KP’s North Waziristan district.
Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
Pakistani security forces kill 30 militants in restive northwest — military
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Pakistani security forces kill 30 militants in restive northwest — military
- Pakistan has struggled to curb militancy in its northwest since a truce with the Pakistani Taliban collapsed in 2022
- The militants were killed in separate engagements in Lakki Marwat, Karak and Khyber districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Islamabad questions growing India, Afghanistan engagement amid militancy surge in Pakistan
- Afghan ministers visited India in October and December last year amid Kabul’s strained ties with Islamabad
- Islamabad accuses India of supporting militant groups based in Afghanistan who launch attacks against Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday questioned growing engagement between officials from India and Afghanistan, vowing Islamabad would eliminate “terrorism” from the country as it reels from a surge in militancy.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi arrived in New Delhi in October last year, marking the first official visit by a Taliban leader to the country since 2021 where he was accorded a warm welcome. In December 2025, Afghanistan’s Public Health Minister Noor Jalal Jalali arrived in India.
These visits took place amid growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad frequently accuses India of supporting militant groups who carry out attacks in Pakistan, especially in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and southwestern Balochistan provinces. Pakistan also alleges these militant groups use Afghan territory to launch attacks against it. New Delhi and Kabul both deny Pakistan’s allegations.
“You can see the Afghan government [officials] every other day go to India and hold negotiations there,” Tarar said during a news conference. “What negotiations are these? What trade do you have with them? What areas of mutual cooperation are there that require such extensive consultations?”
The minister said the militants who were carrying out attacks in Pakistan want to destabilize the country, accusing them of following a “foreign-funded agenda.”
“What Islam is this, that you take funds from India and conduct blasts here,” he questioned.
Tarar said the nation remains united in defeating “terrorism,” adding that the government will battle militancy in all its forms.
“Not only will we counter their narrative, we will also ensure that every Pakistani citizen feels safe,” he added.
The development takes place as Pakistan grapples with surging militancy. Pakistan military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters during a media briefing last week that the country witnessed 5,397 militant incidents in 2025.
KP province accounted for 3,811 attacks while 1,557 incidents were reported in Balochistan, he said. The military spokesperson said security forces carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in the country last year, killing 2,597 militants.
“The past year was a landmark and consequential one in the war against terrorism,” he said.
