As Operation Khyber-4 continues in Khyber Agency, 110 square kilometres of Rajgal Valley have been cleared, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday, with over 40 suspected facilitators of terrorists arrested in Punjab.

The army's public relations wing said that a number of terrorist hideouts in the area had been "dismantled" and improved explosive devices neutralised, adding that "forces [are] searching cleared areas of Wucha Wana, Bagh, Ziarat Sereh and Pak Darra."

Additionally, the Punjab Rangers, along with the Counter-Terrorism Department Punjab and police conducted operations against terrorists and their facilitators in the province, ISPR said, adding that 42 suspects had been arrested in Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi over the past 48 hours.

"The apprehended individuals are suspected of providing harbouring places to terrorists in the suburbs of Lahore and Islamabad," the ISPR handout said.

The army announced the launch of Operation Khyber-4 to "wipe out terrorists" in Rajgal Valley under Radd-ul-Fasaad earlier this month.

Khyber-4 seeks to target terrorist hideouts in what ISPR called "the most critical area in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas".

Since the launch of Operation RuF, the army has launched 46 major operations in the country and over 9,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs).

According to ISPR, incidents of terrorism in Pakistan have shown a marked drop over the three-year period from 2014-2017, from a high of 269 incidents in February 2014, to two incidents in June 2017.

Opinion

Editorial

Geopolitical games
Updated 18 Dec, 2024

Geopolitical games

While Assad may be gone — and not many are mourning the end of his brutal rule — Syria’s future does not look promising.
Polio’s toll
18 Dec, 2024

Polio’s toll

MONDAY’s attacks on polio workers in Karak and Bannu that martyred Constable Irfanullah and wounded two ...
Development expenditure
18 Dec, 2024

Development expenditure

PAKISTAN’S infrastructure development woes are wide and deep. The country must annually spend at least 10pc of its...
Risky slope
Updated 17 Dec, 2024

Risky slope

Inflation likely to see an upward trajectory once high base effect tapers off.
Digital ID bill
Updated 17 Dec, 2024

Digital ID bill

Without privacy safeguards, a centralised digital ID system could be misused for surveillance.
Dangerous revisionism
Updated 17 Dec, 2024

Dangerous revisionism

When hatemongers call for digging up every mosque to see what lies beneath, there is a darker agenda driving matters.