RAWALPINDI: The security forces neutralized at least eight “Indian-sponsored” terrorists in a fire exchange during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district as part of operation “Azm e Istehkam,” the military’s media wing said on Friday.
In a statement the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, “On 24 October 2025, on the reported presence of Khwarij belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al-Khwarij, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Tank District. Troops effectively engaged terrorist locations, and after an intense fire exchange, eight Indian-sponsored Khwarij were sent to hell.”
In July, the government designated the banned terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan as Fitna al-Khawarij, mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.
Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, the ISPR said.
It added that the slain terrorists “remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces and law enforcement agencies as well as the killing of innocent civilians.”
“Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored Kharji found in the area as a relentless counterterrorism campaign under the vision ‘Azm e Istehkam” (as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan [who] will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the statement added.
In June last year, the federal government approved a reinvigorated and re-energized national counter-terrorism campaign, Operation Azm-i-Istehkam.
On Oct 16, security forces killed 34 “India-backed” terrorists during multiple operations across KP over the course of three days, the military’s media wing said.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in the past year, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
