ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces carried out an intelligence-based operation in the country’s northwest, the military said on Saturday, killing 17 Pakistani Taliban who had established a presence in the area.
The country’s tribal districts in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been prone to militant violence by members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of insurgent factions.
The TTP, which the Pakistani state refers to as “Fitna al Khwaraj,” a term from Islamic history denoting a violent rebel group, has been blamed for hundreds of attacks in the region.
Islamabad accuses the group’s leadership of operating from Afghanistan with support from India, charges both Kabul and New Delhi deny.
“On night 26/27 September 2025, Security Forces conducted an intelligence based operation in Lakki Marwat District, on reported presence of khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. “During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the khwarij location and resultantly, seventeen Indian sponsored khwarij were sent to hell.”
The military said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the fighters, who it added were involved in numerous attacks against security forces, law enforcement agencies and civilians.
A “sanitization operation” was continuing in the area to deal with any of their accomplices, it continued.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces, according to a statement circulated by his office, saying the militants’ “nefarious designs were foiled due to the professionalism and timely action of our forces.”
“The government and security forces are determined to eradicate terrorism completely … the scourge of terrorism will soon be uprooted,” he was quoted as saying.
Lakki Marwat has suffered attacks ranging from drive-by shootings at police checkpoints to major bombings in the past.
While the district does not directly border Afghanistan, it lies within reach of the porous frontier belt where militant groups often operate.
The area is also close to Bannu, where earlier this month militants attacked a paramilitary base with a suicide car bomb, triggering a 12-hour clash that killed six security personnel, six militants, and left 19 others wounded.
