RAWALPINDI: Security forces have killed 21 militants in multiple operations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including 17 along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Sunday.
According to the military’s media wing, the operations were conducted between September 3 and 5, following an earlier engagement along the border in North Waziristan.
The ISPR said 10 additional militants were killed after security forces cleared the area where militants had been holed up, taking the number of militants neutralised following the August 31-September 1 infiltration attempt to 25.
Security forces had earlier killed 15 militants while foiling an infiltration attempt along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border opposite North Waziristan on the night of August 31 and September 1, according to the ISPR.
In another operation, security forces detected the movement of a militant group along the border in North Waziristan and engaged it, killing seven militants, the statement said.
Four more militants were killed in two separate encounters in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan districts during joint operations, according to the ISPR.
ISPR reiterates concerns over cross-border militancy
The military’s media wing said the latest incidents had reinforced Pakistan’s concerns over the use of Afghan soil for cross-border terrorism.
The ISPR accused the Afghan Taliban regime of failing to ensure effective border management and meet its international counterterrorism obligations.
The military said security forces remained “resolute and unwavering” in defending Pakistan’s frontiers.
Sanitisation operations were also under way in the affected areas to locate and eliminate any remaining militants, the ISPR said.
KP and Balochistan remain key violence hotspots
Pakistan has witnessed a rise in militant violence, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since 2021.
A report by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) identified the two provinces as the country’s main violence hotspots during the second quarter of 2026.
According to the report, KP and Balochistan together accounted for nearly 96% of violence-related fatalities recorded during the quarter.
KP reported 475 deaths, accounting for more than 61% of the total, while Balochistan recorded 265 fatalities, or 34%.
KP also recorded 151 violent incidents, representing 57% of the nationwide total, followed by Balochistan with 94 incidents, or 35%.