In Pakistan, the army has announced that it has eliminated 32 militants in an intelligence-based operation that took place on July 28–29 in Khyber district and Nushki in Balochistan. The military said that it retrieved weapons, ammunition and IEDs and destroyed them during the operations.

The raids were part of a campaign called “Azm-e-Istehkam”, which was approved by the Federal Apex Committee to destroy the “militant network” of Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan, both of which have been designated as terrorist organisations by the Pakistani state.

The clashes in Swat and Hangu also claimed the lives of security personnel in the country. Seven people, including Elite Force Constable Gulfam Khan and four members of the Village Defence Committee, died in Swat. Four policemen were killed and two more injured when militants attacked the Khazeena Banda police check post in the town of Hangu.

President Asif Ali Zardari commended the professional abilities of the security forces while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pledged the government would remain undeterred in combating terrorism and would continue the fight till the threat was eradicated from the country. State honours were accorded in funeral prayers to the dead.

The Inter-Services Public Relations said that sanitisation operations are ongoing to clear up the remaining militants under the “Azm-e-Istehkam” campaign. The government has also reiterated its pledge to implement the National Action Plan, which means that security forces will continue to put pressure on militant groups as a result of the heightened violence