argeted operations against militants have been going on since 2022 in various parts of the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The security forces are engaged in an intense fight against militancy in which casualties are reported almost daily.

The pace of the operations has picked up recently following major attacks against the security forces in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Laki Marwat, Bannu, North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan.

Pakistan Army, too, has carried out several successful operations. A number of militants wanted for their role in anti-state violence have been killed in these operations. Militancy has gone in the region despite several operations undertaken by the security forces over the last two decades. In the recent operations, however, the militants have lost several key leaders and fighters. It is worth mentioning that the Afghan Taliban are openly supporting the Pakistani Taliban in some areas. In several cases the militants killed in intelligence-based operations have been found to be Afghan citizens who have entered Pakistan illegally. The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants active in the border regions have also received Afghan support. Under the circumstances, the achievements of the Pakistani security forces are commendable.

A sign of the effectiveness of the intelligence operations in the southern districts is that some of the militants have moved to the north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. So far militant activity in Peshawar Valley has been quite subdued. The counter-terrorism strategy of the security and intelligence organisations (acting under military command) has been so effective that the militants have been contained in Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera and Charsadda districts.

Target killings has been a favourite tactic of the militants.

However, the militants influence in the north of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been increasing. Their recent undertakings have included an attack on Chinese engineers in Shangla, firing on a bus in Gilgit, a suicide attack on a gathering of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam in the newly merged tribal district of Bajaur and a landmine explosion that killed a former senator in the same district. These activities have mostly been orchestrated from the Kunar and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan. Evidence suggests that these attacks were carried out by Pakistani militants having hideouts and safe havens across the Afghan border.

The presence of a community supporting an extremist mindset in the northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been known for a while. Some of them have lived in the Sunni-majority areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. In the 1990s, these areas were influenced by the Salafist school under Tehreek Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi. There influence is known to extend to Sunni-majority areas of Hazara division as well as Gilgit-Baltistan. Training camps were established in Gilgit-Baltistan in the mid 1990s by the Tehreek-i-Nafaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi. This was the reason why after 9/11, thousands of TNSM members, locally known as ‘black turbans,’ went to Afghanistan to join the fight against US-led forces in Afghanistan.

On July 4, the Karakoram Highway between Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was closed for all types of traffic and an operation was started in the mountainous area of Diamer. The success stories include the death of militant commander Shah Faisal, who was involved in a passenger bus attack in Gilgit that killed ten people.

Maulana Sufi Muhammad’s son-in-law and later Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan supreme leader Maulana Fazlullah was among those who went to Afghanistan. These people entered the Kunar province of Afghanistan through Bajaur. After their return from Afghanistan many of them were depressed and dejected. Finding inspiration in the new war in Afghanistan, some of them became very active in Malakand, especially in Swat, under Mullah Fazlullah. After the Lal Masjid operation in Islamabad, Fazlullah called for suicide attacks in Pakistan.

During the 2009 military operation to purge Malakand, he fled to Kunar province of Afghanistan. He was later killed in a drone strike while leading the TTP from his exile in Afghanistan.

After the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the government led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the then military leaders started talks with some militants. Following some rounds of negotiation the government released many militants, including known Pakistani Taliban men from the Malakand region. In the process, some Pakistani Taliban crossed the border and reached Swat. However, there was a strong popular reaction to their return. This forced them into hiding. However, from time to time the Taliban in Swat were behind target killings in the Malakand division, including Swat.

It is pertinent to mention here that in the attacks against the Chinese engineers in 2021 and 2024, militants from Hazara division and Malakand division were found to be the central figures.

An operation against the militants in Gilgit-Baltistan was always on the cards. However, it was postponed for one reason or the other until some militants from Afghanistan launched a series of attacks in Gilgit, Chitral, Dir and adjoining areas.

Given the presence of Chinese engineers and development in the region, the administration has to ensure law and order. On July 4, the Karakoram Highway between Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was closed for all types of traffic. A targeted operation was then started in the mountainous area of Diamer. Security forces have claimed considerable success in the initial phase, including the death of militant commander Shah Faisal, who was involved in a passenger bus attack in Gilgit that killed ten people.

These targeted operations are very important to restore and keep peace and security in the country during Muharram and beyond. Historically, successful operations in which militants suffer heavy casualties to the point that their survival is threatened have been followed by strong reactions. This is why law enforcement agencies cannot afford to lower their guard and ignore the possibility of a severe backlash over the coming weeks and months.

The writer is a Peshawar-based journalist, researcher and trainer. He also works for the digital media platform The Khorasan Diary