Security forces killed four Indian-sponsored terrorists in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, the military’s media wing said on Thursday.

According to a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO last night on the reported presence of khawarij belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Khawarij.

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

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

It added that weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain terrorists, who “remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”.

It said that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate other Indian-sponsored terrorists found in the area. It said that security forces and law enforcement agencies would continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.

In separate statements, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari commended the security forces for the operation, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

“The entire nation stands with Pakistan’s armed forces in this war against terrorism,” the report quoted the prime minister as saying.

PM Shehbaz expressed the government’s firm resolve to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism in the country.

The prime minister said that security forces “continue to achieve significant successes under the Azm-i-Istehkam vision”, according to the report.

In a separate statement, President Zardari said, “The relentless efforts of the security forces and law enforcement agencies under the vision of Azm-i-Istehkam are commendable.”

The president reaffirmed the nation’s resolve to continue the fight against terrorism until its complete eradication.

He reiterated that the entire nation stands united with its security forces in safeguarding the country’s peace and stability.

The operation in Lakki Marwat has been conducted days after a terrorist attack, involving an explosive-laden vehicle, on a checkpost in KP’s Bajaur district, martyred 11 security personnel, as per ISPR.

12 terrorists were eliminated after security forces retaliated and “engaged the fleeing khwarij with precision,” ISPR said.

KP has seen a rise in terrorist attacks in the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.

This marked an “absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82 per cent of the net national rise and marking almost a 44pc year-on-year surge in violence in the province”.