The Kabul Tribune (KT)— Pakistan's military said that security forces killed at least 21 militants in a series of operations in the country's northwest, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military's media
wing, said the operations were carried out between Sept. 3 and Sept. 5 in
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The military said 10 additional militants were killed in
North Waziristan following an operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border
on the night of Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. It said the latest deaths brought to 25
the number of militants killed while allegedly attempting to infiltrate
Pakistan during that operation.
Pakistan had earlier said 15 militants were killed while
security forces thwarted an attempted infiltration from Afghanistan into North
Waziristan.
The military said security forces also detected another
group of militants moving near the border in North Waziristan and killed seven
of them during an engagement.
Four other militants were killed in two separate operations
in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khel districts, according to the military.
The figures announced Sunday appeared to cover several
separate operations and included militants killed during earlier engagements.
The military did not immediately provide further details about the identities
of those killed.
In its statement, the military again accused Afghanistan's
Taliban authorities of failing to prevent militants from using Afghan territory
to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
“The Afghan Taliban regime has consistently failed to ensure
effective border management and honor its international counterterrorism
obligations,” the military said.
Pakistani authorities have repeatedly accused Afghanistan's
Taliban government of allowing TTP fighters to operate from Afghan soil. Kabul
has rejected those allegations, and India has also denied Pakistan's claims
that it supports militant groups operating against Pakistan.
The military said security forces were continuing clearance
operations in the affected areas.
Pakistan has experienced a sharp increase in militant
attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan
Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. The TTP is a separate organization
from Afghanistan's Taliban but is closely aligned with it.
A report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies
said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan remained Pakistan's main hotspots for
violence during the second quarter of 2026.
According to the report, the two provinces accounted for
nearly 96% of violence-related deaths recorded nationwide during the quarter.
More than 61%, or 475 deaths, were reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while
Balochistan accounted for 265 deaths, or about 34%.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also recorded 151 violent incidents,
representing 57% of the nationwide total, while Balochistan recorded 94
incidents, or 35%, according to the report.
