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At least five India-backed terrorists were killed during an operation conducted by security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Lakki Marwat district, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Sunday.
The military's media wing said that the IBO was conducted on March 15 on the reported presence of terrorists in the area.
"During the conduct of operation, our troops effectively engaged the khawarij location and after an intense fire exchange, five khawarij were sent to hell," read the communique.
The Pakistan Armed Forces also recovered weapons and ammunition from the killed terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area.
Following the IBO, security forces began a sanitisation operation to eliminate any other India-sponsored kharji found in the area, the ISPR press release read.
The ISPR vowed that the counterterrorism campaign under Operation Azm-e-Istehkam would continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.
Since the Afghan Taliban grabbed power in Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in cross-border terrorist incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.
Amid the rising terror incidents, Pakistan launched "Operation Ghazab lil-Haq", during which around 684 Afghan Taliban operatives and affiliated militants were killed.
More than 900 Afghan Taliban operatives have also been injured, while Pakistan has destroyed 252 checkposts, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed today.
The two countries, back in October 2025, were also engaged in border clashes after the Afghan Taliban and militants launched unprovoked attacks against Pakistan’s border posts.
The resulting clashes led to the killing of over 200 Taliban and affiliated militants, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred defending the motherland.
However, despite many rounds of talks, both countries failed to reach an agreement due to the Afghan Taliban regime's reluctance to take action against terrorist outfits.
