Pakistan's evolving counterterrorism strategy in North Waziristan

PESHAWAR: Pakistan launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014 after the deadly attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi was linked to terrorist hideouts in North Waziristan, a region bordering Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces.

The operation involved 30,000 personnel from the Pakistan army, air force, Frontier Corps and police, later intensifying after the December 2014 Army Public School Peshawar attack that killed 132 children.

The campaign cleared areas including Miramshah, Mir Ali and more than 4,300 square kilometers of Shawal Valley, while the government introduced the National Action Plan.

Pakistan later launched Operation Rad-ul-Fasad in 2017 and Operation Azm-e-Istehkam in 2024 as terrorist groups shifted toward sleeper cells and cross-border raids.

From 2022 to 2026, security forces carried out targeted operations against commanders and reported eliminating 71 terrorists during a 2025 border infiltration attempt and 22 more after checkpoint attacks in 2026.