Islamabad, Pakistan – The Pakistani military announced on Sunday that security forces killed more than 20 militants during multiple field clashes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province between September 3 and 5. According to the military statement, the slain militants belonged to the “Kharijite sedition” – the official term the state uses for the banned Pakistani Taliban – and were supported by regional actors.
The statement explained that the operations included thwarting infiltration attempts across the Afghan border in North Waziristan. In these operations, 25 militants were initially killed, bringing the total to 25. Further precise operations in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khel resulted in the neutralization of additional elements. Meanwhile, Islamabad explicitly accused the Afghan Taliban regime of utterly failing to prevent terrorist organizations from using Afghan territory to launch cross-border attacks. The army reaffirmed its commitment to continuing its clearance operations under the “Determination of Resolve” (Diyar Bhutto) strategy to eradicate foreign-backed terrorism.
For his part, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari praised the professional capabilities of the security forces. At the same time, he urged Afghan leaders to fulfill their international obligations in combating terrorism. This escalation comes amid reports of a 50 percent increase in terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa last month, while Islamabad maintains that recent Afghan measures to relocate some fighters have not yet dismantled the actual support and logistical networks.
