By Khawaja Hamza

Rawalpindi, Security forces killed 15 militants belonging to the Indian-sponsored Fitna Al Khwarij during a counter-terrorism operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border opposite North Waziristan District, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to ISPR, the movement of a group of militants attempting to infiltrate into Pakistan was detected during the night of August 31–September 1, 2026. Security forces responded with patience and professionalism and engaged the infiltrators in a precise operation that continued for 36 hours.

As a result of the successful engagement, 15 Khwarij were killed. A significant quantity of weapons and ammunition was also recovered during the subsequent sanitization operation, ISPR said, adding that the recovery further exposed the alleged designs of the militants and their facilitators to disrupt peace and stability in Pakistan.

ISPR said the incident along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border once again reinforced Pakistan’s longstanding concerns over what it described as the failure of the Afghan Taliban regime to prevent the use of Afghan soil for cross-border terrorism. It alleged that the Afghan Taliban regime had consistently failed to ensure effective border management and fulfill its international obligations.

The military’s media wing reiterated that Pakistan’s security forces remain resolute and committed to defending the country’s frontiers.

A sanitization operation is continuing in the area to locate and eliminate any remaining militants, ISPR said. It added that the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign under “Azm-e-Istehkam,” approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace to eliminate what it described as foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.