RAWALPINDI/ KHAR/QUETTA: A significant escalation in Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts unfolded on Wednesday as security forces killed 34 terrorists in KP and Balochistan, while a wave of attacks claimed the lives of at least 13 security personnel and civilians. The spike in violence, which included targeted assaults on police and FC personnel, has placed the federal capital on high alert.
Over the last few days, security forces eliminated 34 Indian-sponsored terrorists in separate intelligence based operations (IBOs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The forces conducted a series of high-tempo IBOs, part of relentless counter terrorism campaign aimed at eliminating Indian proxies, Fitna Al Khwarij and Fitna Al Hindustan, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a statement said.
On February 24, as many as 26 Khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij were killed in four separate engagements in the KP province, whereas eight Khwarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna Al Hindustan were killed in an engagement in Sambaza, Balochistan.
Movement of a group of Khwarij, opposite general area Hassan Khel, North Waziristan District, who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was picked up by the security forces. Own troops effectively engaged this group of Khwarij, said the ISPR.
As a result of precise and skillful engagement, one Kharji belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khwarij was sent to hell, it added. It is significant to highlight that killed Kharji has been identified as an Afghan national.
In another engagement, an IBO was conducted in Lakki Marwat District. During the operation, own troops effectively engaged the Khwarij location and after an intense fire exchange, three Khwarij were successfully neutralised.
Simultaneously, in two separate engagements in general area Narmi Khel, Bannu District, own troops effectively neutralised 10 Khwarij, while operating on precise intelligence, troops successfully eliminated 12 Khwarij in general area Mir Ali, North Waziristan District.
During the fifth engagement, troops conducted an IBO in general area Sambaza, Zhob District, Balochistan. After an intense fire exchange, eight terrorists belonging to Fitna Al Hindustan were successfully neutralised. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from Indian sponsored killed Khwarij and terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area.
Meanwhile, four more cops embraced martyrdom in Bajaur on Wednesday. Officials said that unidentified gunmen opened fire on a patrol team of the Ababeel Squad in the Nawan Killay area of Khar tehsil in Bajaur tribal district. Bajaur District Police Officer Khalid Khan confirmed the incident and said that the personnel of Ababeel Squad were on routine patrol during Ramazan when it came under attack. As a result of the firing, he said, four cops embraced martyrdom on the spot while two others sustained injuries.
The banned militant outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi condemned the terrorist attack on police personnel patrolling in Bajaur district and sought a detailed report from the inspector general of police.
Separately, at least nine people, including three security personnel, were martyred in two separate armed attacks in the border town of Chaman and the Buleda area of Kech district in Balochistan on Wednesday.
According to officials, unknown terrorists targeted a vehicle carrying personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) in Chaman.
The FC personnel were passing through the Roghani Road area when the armed men opened indiscriminate fire on their vehicle, resulting in the martyrdom of three FC soldiers on the spot, while another was injured.
“We have received three bodies of FC men and one injured at Civil Hospital Chaman,” said hospital official Niamatullah, adding that the injured person is being shifted to Quetta. Police officials said the attackers were riding motorcycles and escaped from the area after carrying out the attack. Police and other security personnel rushed to the site soon after receiving information about the firing incident.
A search operation was launched in the vast area of Chaman. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Meanwhile, six people, including one attacker, were killed in an armed assault on a house in the Buleda area of Kech district in Makran division, close to the Iranian border. Officials said that a group of armed men reached the village of Minaz and attacked the house of one Abdul Hameed in Muhammadi Bazaar. They opened indiscriminate fire at the house, which the residents returned in retaliation. “Heavy exchange of fire continued for over an hour, during which the attackers fired a rocket towards the house that landed and exploded in a makeshift structure,” an official said. A fire broke out in the house, killing a woman and one attacker. Buleda Deputy Superintendent of Police Talal Gichki, while confirming the incident, said that one attacker was among the six dead, while four others were injured.
Meanwhile, the Balochistan Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution condemning an attack on the home in Buleda, Kech District.
During the assembly session, Provincial Minister Mir Zahoor Buledi presented the joint resolution, describing the incident as a “shameful and inhumane act.” He said terrorists linked to India targeted women and children, even burning their bodies. He accused India of attempting to destabilise Pakistan following its defeat on May 9, and said that News Delhi has increased funding for its proxy groups.
Meanwhile, federal capital city has been placed on high alert following specific intelligence warnings about potential retaliatory attacks after recent kinetic operations. Law enforcement agencies have rolled out a comprehensive preemptive strategy to safeguard public life and critical infrastructure. Authorities are also investigating a threatening image circulating on social media, posted by unknown miscreants, showing a hand holding a grenade with Faisal Masjid in the background.
Separately, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said Pakistan has boosted security and arrested dozens of suspects as it fears rising wave of militant attacks following its air strikes in Afghanistan. “Our forces are on high-alert to combat any attacks,” Talal Chaudhry, told Reuters, “You know the militants always react whenever we go after their hideouts in Afghanistan.”
Security forces have accelerated search and intelligence based operations (IBO) and “have arrested dozens of suspected militants, their handlers and their facilitators,” the minister said. Multiple sources added that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have issued alerts for a possible surge in terror attacks in Pakistan in coming days. Urban centres, markets, security forces and places of worship could be possible targets, according to the alerts, the sources said.
Militancy is a growing problem for Pakistan with the number of attacks rising every year since 2022, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organization.
Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022 and over the same period, TTP attacks increased more than seven-fold to 838 from 118.
The funeral prayers of the martyred police personnel — Constables Yar Zada, Dawood Khan, Imran, and Siraj — were offered with full state honours at Police Lines Bajaur.
Bajaur Scouts commandant, the deputy commissioner and the DPO of Bajaur, officials of various departments, local elders, and representatives of civil society attended the prayers.
