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ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed 13 militants in five separate counterterrorism operations in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province this week, Pakistan army’s media wing said on Thursday, vowing to eliminate militancy from the country. 

Security forces conducted five different operations between Feb. 12-13, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, with the first one taking place in Dera Ismail Khan district in which five militants were killed. 

In North Waziristan district, another five militants were killed in two separate gunbattles while two other militants were killed in Lakki Marwat district. In the last operation, one militant was killed in the Khyber district. 

“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the killed khwarij, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against the security forces as well as killing of innocent civilians,” the ISPR said, referring to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants. 

The army said it was launching sanitization operations to eliminate other militants found in the area.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said. 

Pakistan has seen a surge in militancy in KP since a fragile truce between TTP and the state broke down in November 2022. The militants have stepped up attacks against police and security forces in recent months, with the military reporting deaths of 383 soldiers and 925 militants in various clashes in the country in 2024.

The Pakistani Taliban have frequently targeted security forces and police convoys and check-posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in the region.

Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy on Afghanistan, accusing it of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. 

Afghan officials deny involvement and insist that Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani couple appeared in court on Thursday accused of murdering a child maid, who police said they beat with a rolling pin for allegedly stealing chocolate.
Thirteen-year-old Iqra, who had only one name, was taken to hospital in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Tuesday in a critical condition and later died of severe injuries.
A spokesman for Rawalpindi police said Rashid Shafiq and his wife Sana, who also goes by one name, were charged with murder and remanded in custody for four days to allow for an investigation.
“Initially it was ascertained that the lady used a rolling pin for torture,” spokesman Sajjad ul Hassan told AFP.
“The victim had multiple fractures; legs, ankle, arms, head. All this happened due to a missing chocolate,” he said.
Child labor in domestic work remains widespread in Pakistan, according to an International Labour Organization report from 2022, with one in every four households employing a child in domestic work, predominantly girls aged 10-14.
It is illegal to employ individuals under the age of 15 but it remains a common practice, with impoverished parents often sending their young daughters to work.
Iqra’s father Sana Ullah, who lives in a rural Punjab village, told AFP that his daughter had been working with the couple for the past 22 months, during which they paid him 8,000 rupees (around $28) a month.
“The beasts tortured my daughter in a way that no human could ever do,” he told AFP.
“I demand justice for this brutality.”
Domestic workers frequently face exploitation, violence and sexual abuse, with Pakistan’s patriarchal and rigid social-class structure leaving them without a voice.
In the past, parents frequently forgave the accused through out-of-court settlements under Islamic law, which allows the victim’s heirs to either seek retribution or accept compensation in the form of blood money.
Prosecutions for housemaid abuse are rare despite media attention on high-profile cases, with perpetrators facing few or no consequences.
In 2020, a couple in the same city was arrested for allegedly murdering their seven-year-old maid, who was blamed for letting a pet bird escape.