Civil-military leadership agrees to expand intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has agreed to broaden intelligence-based operations against terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tighten coordination between federal and provincial institutions.
Pakistan’s civil and military leadership has agreed to expand intelligence-based operations against terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after a high-level meeting in Islamabad reviewed the province’s security, political and administrative situation.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi, federal ministers, governors and other senior officials, according to reports of the discussions.
Participants reviewed the overall national and internal security situation, with particular attention to law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, developments since governor’s rule and a state of emergency were imposed in the province, and the progress of counterterrorism operations already under way.
The central decision, as reported from the meeting, was to broaden the scope of intelligence-based operations, known as IBOs, with the aim of eliminating terrorist networks and those facilitating them, rather than relying on broader, large-scale operations.
The prime minister directed the institutions involved to work under a coordinated strategy, stressing that federal and provincial departments and law enforcement agencies must cooperate more closely so that decisions taken at the meeting are implemented effectively on the ground.
The meeting comes after the federal government suspended the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 11 October, imposing governor’s rule and a state of emergency in a move presented as necessary to rein in terrorism and improve governance in the province.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has long been at the centre of Pakistan’s counterterrorism challenge, with security forces carrying out targeted operations against militant hideouts while also trying to protect police, officials and civilians who have repeatedly been attacked.
The discussions also reviewed the performance of the province’s administrative and development bodies and the implementation of a Rs160 billion federal package for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, linking the security effort to development work in affected areas.
Reports of the meeting also said the formation of an electoral reforms committee was discussed, with the prime minister expressing commitment to setting it up at the earliest, though no final announcement on that committee was made at the meeting itself.
What happens next will depend on how the expanded operations are carried out and how closely federal and provincial institutions coordinate in practice. Further meetings may follow to review progress, and the authorities may announce additional measures for policing and development in the province, but the immediate signal from Islamabad is that targeted operations will intensify.
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