Pakistan’s military said on October 10 that security forces killed all 30 militants involved in the earlier attack in Orakzai district that left 11 security personnel dead. The Inter-Services Public Relations described the follow-up as a “retribution operation” and said the men had been involved in the October 7 incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The military said 11 security personnel, including Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Tariq and Major Tayyab Rahat, were killed in the Orakzai violence earlier in the week. In its statement, ISPR said the latest operation took place in the Jamal Maya area on the basis of credible intelligence and followed an intense exchange of fire. The agency said the men killed were the same “khwarij” linked to the earlier attack, using the government’s preferred term for militants it says are carrying out terrorism in Pakistan.
The statement framed the operation as revenge for the Orakzai assault and said sanitization operations were continuing to search for any other militants in the area. That wording matters because it shows the military presenting the action not just as a battlefield success but as a targeted response aimed at restoring deterrence after a deadly strike on its own personnel.
Civilian leaders quickly echoed that message. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said security personnel were safeguarding the country at great risk, while President Asif Ali Zardari praised the forces for dismantling what he called a terrorist network. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also commended the operation and said militants would not be allowed to hide anywhere in Pakistan. The public statements reinforced how closely the civilian and military leaderships are aligned on the language of the campaign.
The episode also fits a broader pattern. Pakistan has seen a surge in attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with police, security personnel and other state targets hit repeatedly. The violence increased after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan broke a ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022. Islamabad says the militants have used sanctuaries in Afghanistan to stage attacks, while Afghan authorities deny sheltering them.
The Orakzai killings came amid a week of heavy losses. A day after the original incident, a Pakistan Army major was killed and seven militants were said to have died during another intelligence-based operation in Dera Ismail Khan. Last month, 19 soldiers were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in multiple incidents over just a few days. Against that backdrop, the government has intensified its political messaging, arguing that Pakistan faces a persistent threat across the border.
That message has also become entangled with accusations against India. Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused New Delhi of backing cross-border militancy, and the military’s statement in Orakzai repeated its description of the militants as “India-sponsored.” The Afghan government has consistently denied Pakistan’s allegations about TTP sanctuaries, creating a regional dispute that is now part security crisis, part diplomatic standoff.
For Islamabad, the key question after the Orakzai operation is whether such raids can reduce attacks or only deepen the cycle of retaliatory violence. On October 10, the military presented the answer as immediate and forceful: all 30 attackers were dead, the dead were avenged, and the hunt for remaining militants would continue.
