ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani soldiers, including an army major, and 11 militants were killed in a shootout in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.

The operation was conducted in KP’s South Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, on intelligence reports about the presence of “Indian-sponsored” militants, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.

The intense exchange of fire killed 11 militants and injured seven others. The shootout also left two Pakistani soldiers, Major Moiz Abbas Shah and Lance Naik Jibran Ullah, dead.

“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan and India often blame each other for supporting militancy.

Islamabad accuses India of backing a separatist insurgency in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province as well as religiously motivated militant groups, like the Pakistani Taliban, in KP. India denies the allegations.

Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Islamabad broke down in late 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 the region in recent months.

In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to Major Shah and Lance Naik Jibran Ullah for thwarting the evil designs of the enemy.

“We will continue the fight against the scourge of terrorism until it is completely eradicated from the country,” he said. “The entire nation, including me, stands by our Pakistani forces in their unwavering resolve to protect the homeland.”