The son of the deputy governor of Afghanistan’s Badghis province was among four terrorists killed during a counterterrorism operation last week in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Monday.

Islamabad has consistently voiced concerns that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) uses Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan, asking the Afghanistan government to rein in the group. Kabul denies the allegations.

Radio Pakistan, citing sources, apparently referred to an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in the Kulachi area of KP’s Dera Ismail Khan district on January 31, during which four terrorists were killed.

“According to sources, four terrorists of Fitnah Al Khawarij were killed by the security forces during a successful operation in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan a few days back,” the report stated.

“Among those killed was the son of the deputy governor of Baghdeis province of Afghanistan. He was identified as Badaruddin alias Yousaf,” it claimed.

Fitnah Al Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the TTP.

It further said that according to sources, the Afghan authorities had refused to receive the eliminated terrorist’s body “despite multiple requests from Pakistan”.

Dawn.com could not independently verify the developments.

Detailing the counterterrorism operation, Radio Pakistan stated that “modern American-made night vision equipment, along with M16A4 and M24 sniper rifles, were recovered from the killed terrorists”.

“Badaruddin had previously received training at an Afghan Taliban training centre,” the report claimed, adding that he later joined the TTP.

“Badaruddin was directly involved in the new wave of terrorist attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan. According to sources, the Afghan Taliban leadership still maintains close ties with terrorist organisations, including Fitna Al Khawarij,” the report said.

The report quoted unnamed defence analysts as saying that the killed terrorists allegedly being the Afghan deputy governor’s son was “clear evidence of the nexus between the Afghan Taliban and Fitna Al Khawarij”.

“Afghanistan has become a breeding ground for all kinds of terrorists and urgent international measures are needed,” the analysts further said.

Earlier this month, Pakistan repatriated the body of an Afghan national involved in terrorist activities who was killed in an IBO in Balochistan’s Zhob district.

On that, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media affairs wing, had said the incident was “irrefutable evidence” of the involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Uptick in terror attacks

Terror attacks have increased since the TTP broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) think-tank, 2024 was the deadliest year for the civil and military security forces of Pakistan in a decade, with at least 685 members of security forces losing their lives amid a total of 444 terror attacks.

According to another think-tank, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), terror attacks across the country surged by 42 per cent in January, resulting in an intensified counterterrorism campaign by security forces.