LAKKI MARWAT: Sec­urity forces killed five terrorists during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakh­tunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat on Sunday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The military’s media wing said in a statement that the IBO was conducted on the reported presence of “khawarij belonging to the Indian proxy, Fitna al Khawarij”.

Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the khawarij location, and after an intense exchange of fire, five khawarij were sent to hell,” the ISPR statement said.

Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain “India-sponsored khawarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”, it added.

“A sanitisation operation is being conducted to eliminate any other India-sponsored kharji found in the area, as the relentless counterterrorism campa­ign under the vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ (as approved by the federal apex committee on the National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the statement read.

Sunday’s operation is the latest action against militants in Lakki Marwat, where the Counter-Terr­orism Department killed six terrorists during an IBO two days ago.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2026