RAWALPINDI: Security forces neutralised 10 terrorists, including a high-value target, in separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district and Balochistan’s Kalat district, the military’s media wing said in separate statements on Thursday.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), two khawarij were killed during an IBO conducted on December 24 in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan. The term khawarij is used by the state to designate members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location. Resultantly, two khawarij, including kharji ringleader Dilawar, were sent to hell,” the statement said.
The ISPR said Dilawar was a high-value target wanted by law enforcement agencies for his involvement in terrorist activities, adding that the government had announced a bounty of Rs4 million on his head.
Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the terrorists, who had been actively involved in attacks against security forces and civilians, the statement added.
In a separate statement, the ISPR said security forces conducted another IBO in Kalat district on December 24 following reports of the presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy group Fitna al-Hindustan.
The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation activities in Pakistan.
During the operation, security forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ hideout, and after an intense exchange of fire, eight Indian-sponsored terrorists were killed, the ISPR said.
“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the statement added.
The ISPR said a sanitisation operation was under way to eliminate any remaining terrorists in the area, stressing that counterterrorism operations by security forces and law enforcement agencies would continue at full pace to eradicate “foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism” from the country.
Earlier this month, 12 terrorists were killed during an IBO in Kalat.
In March, Pakistan ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025, with deaths from terrorist attacks rising by 45 per cent compared to the previous year.
In October, the Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies reported that violence surged in the third quarter of 2025 due to an increase in militant attacks and intensified counterterrorism operations.
