Security forces killed twenty-one terrorists belonging to the Indian-sponsored Fitna Al-Khawarij in multiple engagements in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) between September 3 and 5, the military’s media wing said on Sunday. Fitna al-Khawarij is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), following a successful engagement by security forces on the night of August 31 and September 1 along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in North Waziristan, 10 more terrorists holed up in the area were killed. "Increasing the total number of khawarij who were trying to infiltrate and effectively neutralised by security forces to 25," ISPR said. In another encounter in North Waziristan, security forces detected the movement of another group of terrorists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. “Own troops effectively engaged this group of khawarij,” the ISPR said, adding that as a result of a “precise and skilful engagement”, seven terrorists were killed. Four more terrorists were also killed in two separate encounters in Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan districts during joint operations, according to the statement. The ISPR said the repeated incidents along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border had once again “vindicated Pakistan’s persistent stance” regarding the “abject failure” of the Afghan Taliban regime to prevent Afghan soil from being used by terrorist organisations under its patronage for cross-border terrorism. “The Afghan Taliban regime has consistently failed to ensure effective border management and honour its international counter-terrorism obligations,” the military’s media wing said. Read: Security forces kill 15 terrorists trying to infiltrate from Afghanistan: ISPR The statement said security forces remained “resolute and unwavering” in their commitment to defend the country’s frontiers. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored khawarij found in the area,” the ISPR said. It added that, "the relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under vision "Azm-e-Istehkam" (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for killing the terrorists and said that the entire nation was proud of the professional capabilities of the Armed Forces and law-enforcement agencies for continuously thwarting “nefarious designs” against peace and stability in the country. He added that the entire nation stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the security forces in the ongoing war against terrorism. The prime minister further said operations under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam would continue with full resolve until the complete elimination of foreign-sponsored terrorism from Pakistan’s soil. K-P Governor Faisal Karim Kundi also praised security forces and said they had foiled the terrorists’ “nefarious designs” through timely and effective operations, adding that their sacrifices for the defence of the country and the maintenance of peace were a matter of pride. Kundi said the entire nation stood with the security forces in the fight against terrorism and that operations would continue until the complete elimination of terrorists. On September 3, the ISPR had said security forces killed 15 terrorists attempting to infiltrate Pakistan from Afghanistan along the border opposite North Waziristan after a 36-hour engagement. It had also said weapons and ammunition were recovered during a follow-up sanitisation operation, Terrorism is a growing problem for Pakistan, with the number of attacks rising every year since 2022, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organisation. Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022, and over the same period, TTP attacks increased more than sevenfold to 838 from 118.