Forces target terrorist positions on Peshawar outskirts

• Officials claim success in Hassan Khel operation
• Suggest several militants eliminated, their hideouts destroyed

PESHAWAR: Security forces, including police, army, Frontier Corps, and the Counter-Terrorism Department, conducted a successful intelligence-based joint operation against terrorists of Fitna al Khwarij — a term used by the state for the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan — in the Hassan Khel area on the outskirts of Peshawar and Kohat, officials said on Sunday.

According to senior officials, the operation was launched following intelligence reports about the presence of militants in the area after several recent attacks on law enforcement personnel. Two policemen were abducted and later martyred in the same locality last week, while attacks were also reported on police installations over the past three months.

“The military, the paramilitary force of Frontier Corps, the police, and the Counter-Terrorism Department carried out a coordinated operation against the militants,” a senior official said. He added that during an exchange of fire in the hilly Hassan Khel subdivision, several militants were injured while many were believed to be killed.

According to a statement issued by the city police, the operation was supervised by Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Dr Mian Saeed Ahmed, along with senior military officials and SSP Operations Farhan Khan.

The statement said a coordinated strategy was adopted, with drone technology used effectively. Anti-drone guns were deployed to prevent drone attacks by militants, and sharpshooters equipped with sniper rifles also took part.

Officials said that, in addition to the military, the police’s anti-terrorism squad, elite force, and other specialised units participated in the offensive, and militant hideouts were destroyed.

According to the official statement, law enforcement personnel also repaired government property, including a gas pipeline, damaged by militants.

“Police, military, CTD, and other security agencies remain committed to completely eradicating militancy from the area and protecting the lives and property of the public through joint action against anti-state elements,” the statement read.

Hassan Khel, which sits on the border between Peshawar and Kohat districts, has witnessed several intelligence-based operations in the recent years aimed at dismantling militant groups. Several personnel of law-enforcement agencies have lost lives in the militant attacks in the area.

On April 13, policeman Munsif Azam was martyred and his body was recovered a day after his kidnapping by unidentified armed men from the Hassan Khel area. Azam was kidnapped only 72 hours after the abduction and killing of another policeman, Muqaddar Khan, in Hassan Khel. His body was found in the same area.

On Feb 8, police repelled a militant attack on checkpoints in Passani village, which borders the Hassan Khel subdivision. Earlier, on Nov 26, 2023, militants blew up a gas pipeline in the Hameed Khan Machine area, about five miles south of the Passani police post.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2026