National Assembly told: 2,410 terrorists killed in 5,143 operations in nine months
Photo: Parliament House, Islamabad (file photo — not a picture of Wednesday's session).
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces killed 2,410 terrorists in 5,143 intelligence-based operations in the first nine months of 2026, the Interior Ministry told the National Assembly on Wednesday. Another 806 terrorists were injured and 3,518 arrested in the same period, according to the ministry’s written reply, presented by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi during Question Hour.
Operations under the National Action Plan
The operations ran from January 1 to September 29, 2026, under the National Action Plan, the country’s main counterterrorism strategy. Launched in 2014 and revised in 2021, the plan now carries 14 points and 245 measures. The ministry said the operations were continuing — but it was equally frank about where the effort is falling short, particularly away from the battlefield.
Identity cards cancelled
In the same reply, the house was told that 326,341 computerised national identity cards fraudulently obtained by Afghan nationals have been cancelled over the past five years. The bulk of them — 255,139 — were cancelled in 2026 alone, against 62,414 in 2025, 8,609 in 2024, 117 in 2023 and 62 in 2022.
Online extremism: a weak link
The ministry conceded that curbing extremist content online “had not received adequate attention”. Social media companies complied with just 23.7 percent of removal requests from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and 47 percent of those from provincial Counter Terrorism Departments. Platform by platform, X removed 7.4 percent of flagged content, YouTube 1.9 percent and Facebook 38 percent. Federal and provincial authorities, the reply said, lack a coordinated system for online threats, and a shortage of trained analysts means round-the-clock monitoring is not possible. The companies have also not adopted the PTA’s Social Media Rules, the ministry added.
NACTA’s funding gap
The reply also laid out the funding squeeze on the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA). It sought more than Rs2.98 billion for fiscal year 2026-27 but received Rs1.33 billion. The ministry said there are plans to turn the authority into a National Counter Terrorism Division as part of changes to the counterterrorism structure.
