Fitna al-Khawarij ringleader among two terrorists killed in Bannu IBO: sources

• Hakimullah alias Tiger also killed in IBO: sources
• Heavy weapons recovered from killed terrorists.
• Terrorists were involved in extortion activities.

Security forces killed two Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) carried out in the Mughal Kot sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district, security sources said on Saturday.

They added that the security forces targeted the Tariq Kachhi group of the Fitna al-Khawarij faction, which had been actively involved in terrorist activities for the past two years.

During the operation, Tariq Kachhi, the ringleader of the faction, and Hakimullah alias Tiger were killed, the sources added.

Heavy weapons were recovered from their possession, they said, adding that terrorists were involved in extortion activities for the Fitna al-Khawarij Taliban and were facilitating cross-border infiltration from Afghanistan into Pakistan.

Heightened tensions

Islamabad and Kabul are witnessing heightened tensions amid the Afghan Taliban regime's reluctance to act against terrorist groups, operating from Afghanistan soil, in the backdrop of rising terror attacks in Pakistan.

The Taliban forces and India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), alias Fitna al-Khawarij, resorted to an unprovoked attack on Pakistan on October 12.

The Pakistan Armed Forces gave a befitting response to the aggression, killing over 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants in a self-defence action. The military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that 23 soldiers embraced martyrdom in the clashes with the Taliban forces and the terrorists.

Furthermore, the security forces also conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul, successfully destroying multiple strongholds in response to recent aggression.

After the ceasefire, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan is ready to hold talks with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on reasonable terms. 

The country has witnessed a surge in cross-border terror incidents since Taliban rulers returned to Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of KP and Balochistan.

The two nations share a porous border spanning around 2,500 kilometres with several crossing points, which hold significance as a key element of regional trade and relations between the people across both sides of the fence.

However, the issue of terrorism remains a key issue for Pakistan, which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as the banned TTP to carry out attacks inside the former’s territory.