The military’s propaganda wing reported on Wednesday that an intelligence-based operation in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had killed five terrorists and wounded two more.
According to a news release from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “Security Forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Lakki Marwat District, on 04 December 2024, on [the] reported presence of khwarij.”
Through a formal announcement in July, the government named the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as Fitna al Khawarij and ordered all organizations to refer to those responsible for terrorist attacks on Pakistan as khariji, or outcasts.
Five terrorists were “sent to hell” as a result of security personnel engaging them, according to the ISPR, while two more were hurt.
As Pakistan’s security services are committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism from the nation, “[A] sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji found in the area,” the statement said.
Both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces in separate statements.
The PM stated that “the nefarious intentions of the enemies of humanity will continue to be crushed in the same way,” according to a post on X by state-run broadcaster PTV News.
The statement further stated that “the government is actively working for the complete elimination of Kharijites and terrorism from the country.”
According to a different post on X by PTV News, President Zardari also commended security officers for their valor throughout the operation.
According to the statement, the president declared the “national determination to continue operations until the complete end of terrorism.”
On November 23, a police officer and a local elder were murdered in roadside bomb blasts in the Bajaur tribal district, while three terrorists were killed in two different security operations in the districts of Khyber and South Waziristan.
On November 19, a checkpoint in the Mali Khel neighborhood of KP’s Bannu was targeted, resulting in the martyrdom of twelve troops and the deaths of six militants.
Attacks against security troops, other law enforcement organizations, and security checkpoints have increased significantly in recent years, especially in Balochistan and KP.
After the TTP pledged to target security personnel and violated a precarious ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022, attacks intensified.
A series of terrorist strikes and skirmishes throughout Pakistan in November claimed the lives of at least 245 people, including 68 security personnel.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), a think tank located in Islamabad, said on Sunday that 127 militants and 50 civilians were among the dead.
With 254 fatalities—92 civilians, 108 terrorists, and 54 members of the security forces—November is the second bloodiest month after August.
However, compared to October, when 62 soldiers were slain, it is the bloodiest month of the year in terms of security personnel casualties.
