RAWALPINDI: Nineteen militants and eleven security personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and a major, were killed in an overnight gunbattle in Pakistan’s northwestern Orakzai district, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday, in one of the deadliest clashes of this year.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years, with proscribed groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) targeting security forces and civilians in the western provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan.
“On night 7/8 October 2025, Security Forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Orakzai District on reported presence of Khwarij belonging to Indian Proxy, Fitna al Khwarij,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. “During the conduct of operation, nineteen Indian-sponsored khwarij were sent to hell due to effective engagement by own troops.”
“However, during the intense fire exchange, Lt. Col. Junaid Arif (age 39, resident of Rawalpindi), leading his troops from the front, along with second-in-command Major Tayyab Rahat (age 33, Rawalpindi), having fought gallantly, paid the ultimate sacrifice and embraced shahadat [martyrdom] along with his nine men,” it added.
The army said a “sanitization operation” was underway to clear the area and eliminate any remaining fighters.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have commended security forces for the courageous operation in Orakzai district.
In a statement, the President said Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Tariq Shaheed, Major Tayyab Rahat Shaheed and other martyrs are national heroes.
He reiterated the resolve to completely eliminate Indian-backed terrorism from Pakistani soil.
He affirmed that the entire nation stands as a solid wall alongside its armed forces.
The Prime Minister in his statement said the sacrifices of the fearless personnel of security forces will never go in vain.
He expressed the commitment to foil the sordid designs of Indian-supported terrorists.
