Pakistan says three militants linked to 'India-backed' network killed in KP operations

Pakistan’s military said on Monday that security forces killed three militants linked to what it described as the Indian-sponsored network during separate operations in the country’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the first operation took place on November 2 in the Esham area of North Waziristan, after troops detected a group of militants attempting to infiltrate Pakistan from across the Afghanistan border.

Security forces engaged the group, killing two suspected militants allegedly associated with the Indian proxy network.

One of the slain men was identified as Qasim, an Afghan national and former member of the Afghan Border Police, the military statement said.

In a separate intelligence-based operation in Tank district, security forces killed another suspected militant identified as Ikramuddin, also known as Abu Dajana, described as an Afghan national and a member of the same group.

The ISPR said the incidents highlight the alleged involvement of Afghan nationals in cross-border terrorist activities targeting Pakistani civilians and security personnel. “Pakistan has repeatedly called upon the Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management and prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan,” the statement read.

The military reaffirmed that its forces remain “steadfast in defending the nation’s frontiers,” adding that a sanitization operation is underway in the area to eliminate remaining elements of the group. The operations are part of a broader counterterrorism initiative, Azm-e-Istehkam, approved by Pakistan’s Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan.

“The security forces and law enforcement agencies will continue their relentless efforts to eradicate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the statement concluded.

Militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are frequently described by the state as Fitna al-Khawarij. More recently, officials have used the term Fitna al-Hindustan to describe militants, particularly those operating in Balochistan, citing what Islamabad claims is evidence of Indian involvement in fueling violence and unrest.