RAWALPINDI: Three militants associated with the Indian-backed network “Fitna Al Khwarij” were killed in two separate operations conducted by Pakistan’s security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.

According to the ISPR, the first engagement took place on November 2 in North Waziristan’s Esham area, where security forces detected the movement of a group of militants attempting to infiltrate across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“Own troops effectively engaged the infiltrators, killing two militants belonging to the Indian proxy Fitna Al Khwarij,” the statement said. One of the slain militants was identified as Kharji Qasim, an Afghan national reportedly serving with the Afghan Border Police.

In a separate intelligence-based operation in Tank district, security forces neutralised another militant identified as Kharji Ikramuddin, also known as Abu Dajana — an Afghan national linked to the same group.

The ISPR said these incidents highlight the continued involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorist activities targeting civilians and security forces inside Pakistan.

“Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management and prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan,” the statement read.

Security forces have launched sanitisation operations in the area to eliminate any remaining elements of the group. The ISPR reaffirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces remain fully committed to defending the nation’s frontiers and eradicating foreign-sponsored terrorism under the ongoing “Azm-e-Istehkam” counterterrorism campaign, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan.