Overview
- Security forces say they killed seven militants in an intelligence-based operation in the Eidak area of North Waziristan on Friday, according to state security sources and Radio Pakistan.
- Authorities identified the group using the state label Fitna al-Khawarij, a term Islamabad applies to militants it links to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
- Officials said troops destroyed militant hideouts during the raid and recovered weapons in related operations, while recent Balochistan actions used quadcopters to target suspects and seize large arms caches.
- Senior leaders including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the forces and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi described the slain militants as Indian-sponsored in public remarks.
- The operation comes amid a nationwide surge in attacks, with independent monitoring reporting September as the highest month for militant incidents in 12 years, and it keeps cross-border tensions with Afghanistan at the center of Islamabad’s security and diplomatic concerns.