An army officer was martyred during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Razmak area of North Waziristan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.

During the operation, security forces also killed five terrorists affiliated with Fitna al Khawarij, according to the military’s media wing.

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

The ISPR said that Major Hafiz Ihsan Elahi, 34, from Mianwali district, was “a brave officer who was leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice” and embraced martyrdom.

Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed terrorists, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities” against security forces and law enforcement agencies, as well as in the killing of civilians.

“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other India-sponsored terrorist found in the area. Relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the ISPR statement read.

“Such sacrifices of our brave soldiers further reinforce our unwavering commitment of safeguarding our nation at all costs.”

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was implementing a comprehensive and effective strategy to “completely eliminate” the menace posed by the proscribed Fitna-al-Hindustan, Fitna-al-Khawarij and other terrorist outfits to the country.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorism since the banned TTP ended its ceasefire deal with the government in November 2022, vowing to increase attacks.

Last month, in the wake of multiple major attacks in Balochistan, Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir had reaffirmed that terrorism “emanating from across the borders will be crushed with full might of the state”.

On July 29, the military’s media wing said security forces killed 32 terrorists during operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

7 terrorists killed in Nushki IBO

In a separate statement, ISPR said security forces killed “seven Indian-sponsored terrorists” during an IBO in Balochistan’s Nushki district on the night of July 30/31 July.

Among those was a would-be suicide bomber, the ISPR said, noting that the IBO was carried out on the “reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan” — a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balo­chistan.

During the operation, a terrorist hideout was “identified, monitored and busted through prompt surgical action by own forces, killing all seven Indian sponsored terrorists, including a suicide bomber”, the statement said.

It added that ammunition and improvised explosive devices found there were also destroyed on-site.

Sanitisation operations were underway to eliminate “any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area”.

The military’s media affairs wing reaffirmed that the counter-terrorism campaign under Vision Azm-i-Istehkam would continue “at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and -supported terrorism from the country”.

A day earlier, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti vowed that the state would not retreat “even an inch” in its fight against terrorism.

Last month, security forces killed at least 16 terrorists during “Operation Al-Azm” in Balochistan’s Mastung district, which was launched after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach claimed three lives and injured five others.

Security concerns heightened in Balochistan after a spate of major terrorist attacks took place in early July, which prompted counterterrorism operations across the province.

Among the counterterrorism efforts was Operation Shaban, in which 91 terrorists were killed between July 5 and July 16, according to security sources cited by state media. This took the tally of terrorists eliminated in operations across the province during the period to 129.