Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad
Part of the Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Insurgency in Balochistan, the Sectarian violence in Pakistan, and the War on Terror
Date23 February 2017 – 22 July 2024
Location
Pakistan[8]
Result
Belligerents

Pakistan Pakistan

Taliban-aligned groups

Baloch Separatist groups

  • BLA
  • BLF
  • BNA (2022–2023)
    • BRA (2006–2022, 2023 as part of BNA)
    • UBA (2013–2022, 2023 as part of BNA)

Supported by:
India Indian Intelligence (alleged by Pakistan, denied by India)[3][4]

ISIL-aligned groups

Sectarian groups

Commanders and leaders

Pakistan
President

Prime Minister

Foreign Minister

Interior Minister

Minister of Defence

Defence Secretary

  • Hamood Uz Zaman

Opposition Leader

Army Chief

Chairman JCSC

DG ISI

DG ISPR

Air Chief

Naval Chief

General of SSG

Governor of Balochistan

Chief Minister of Balochistan

Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Former

Al-Qaeda

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar

Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan

  • Noor Wali Mehsud
  • Maulana Qazi Fazlullah †
  • Qari Saifullah Mehsud †[10][11]
  • Sheikh Khalid Haqqani †[12]
  • Tipu Gul Marwat †
  • Badshah Khan Mehsud †
  • Naik Muhammad †
  • Abdul Jabbar Shah †
  • Button Kharab †
  • Khawarey Mullah †
  • Sarbakaf Mohmand †
  • Muhammad Khurasani †
  • Asadullah Pehelwan †
  • Bali Khiara †
  • Saifullah Babuji †
  • Abdul Aneer alias Adil †
  • Junaid alias Jamid †
  • Khaliq Shadeen alias Rehan †
  • Nooristan alias Hasan Baba †
  • Chamtu Waziristani  †
  • Sheryar Mehsud †
  • Mufti Borjan †
  • Uqabi Bajauri †
  • Zakeeren  †
  • Naik Rehman †
  • Rafiullah †
  • Ikramullah  †
  • Ahmedi †
  • Sadiq Noor †
  • Aleem Khan †
  • Abu Darda †
  • Inqilaabi Mehsud †
  • Khawaza Din †
  • Jaabir †
  • Hassan Alias Sajna †
  • Khalid Ahmed †
  • Liaquat †
  • Safiullah †
  • Zabiullah †
  • Toor Hafiz †
  • Hasan Alias Sajna †
  • Cobra Mehsud †
  • Nooristan alias Hasan Baba †
  • Khushali †
  • Chargh †
  • Maulvi Zubair †
  • Samiullah alias Sheena †

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi

Balochistan Liberation Army

Baloch Republican Army

Baluch Liberation Front

United Baloch Army

Lashkar-e-Balochistan

Balochistan Liberation United Front

Lashkar-e-Islam

Jundallah (Pakistan)

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan

Jundallah (Iran)

Jaish ul-Adl

  • Salahuddin Farooqui

Sipah-e-Sahaba

Casualties and losses
440+ soldiers killed[13][14]
1450+ Injured[15][16][17][18]

7,000+ militants killed[19]
1,319+ militants surrendered[20][21]
2,000+ militants arrested[22]
7,300+ suspects arrested[20][23]
500+ executed after being arrested or surrendered[15]

[16][17]

940+ civilians killed[15]

[16][17][14][13]

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (Urdu: آپریشن رد الفساد; lit. 'Rejection of Strife') was a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017.[24] The operation aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It was further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation underwent active participation from the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 intelligence-based operations had been carried out as of 2021.[19] This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

Pakistan had faced the worst brunt of terrorism due to its proximity to the all-time unstable Afghanistan and radicalization injected into the region since the Soviet-Afghan War that started in 1979. Offering land to host global Jihadism in the 80s changed the social fabric, resulting in a massive onslaught of terrorism that Pakistan had gone through since then. The pinnacle of infusion of venom by the multi-headed serpent of radicalization and terrorism was the era of 2006-2014. Pakistan Army fought terrorism gallantry and became the only army in the world that defeated terrorism without external help through several military operations, the biggest such operation was "Operation Zarb-e-Azb" which was started in June 2014. This operation successfully eliminated terrorist hideouts, nurseries, and breeding grounds in urban as well as far-flung areas. However, Pakistan could not be left without placing a mechanism that could ensure continuity and sustainability in anti-terrorism efforts to consolidate the gains achieved through Operation Zarb-e-Azb. The change of command was crucial and after the retirement of Raheel Sharif it was understood that the long-lasting success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb was depending upon a leadership that could manage the rehabilitation of internally displaced people in the former Federally Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA areas), Swat Valley and all other Afghan bordering areas.

The operation entailed the conduct of Broad Spectrum Security (Counter Terrorism) operations by Rangers in Punjab, continuation of ongoing operations across the country and focus on more effective border security management.[25] Countrywide disarmament and explosive control were also given as additional objectives of the operation. The National Action Plan was pursued as the hallmark of this operation.[26]

  1. ^ "The Taliban Pick Fight Over Border With Pakistan". Foreign policy. 6 January 2022.
  2. ^ Putz, Catherine. "The Taliban's Many Problematic Borders". The Diplomat.
  3. ^ "The Pakistani Taliban Test Ties between Islamabad and Kabul". www.crisisgroup.org. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  4. ^ "India's Strategic Use of TTP to Undermine Pakistan's Stability". Modern Diplomacy. 2 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Pakistan Taliban splinter group vows allegiance to Islamic State". Reuters. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  6. ^ Sharipzhan, Merhat (6 August 2015). "IMU Declares It Is Now Part of the Islamic State". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  7. ^ "ISIS Now Has a Network of Military Affiliates in 11 Countries Around the World". Intelligencer. 23 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Pakistan Army launches 'Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad' across the country". Dawn. 22 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Govt approves "Operation Azm-e-Istehkam" to eliminate terrorism". www.radio.gov.pk.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference pt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Uddin, Islam (29 December 2019). "Pakistani Taliban's key leader killed in Afghanistan". Anadolu Agency.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference bbc99 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b "Pakistan terrorism fatalities". SATP. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  14. ^ a b "datasheet-terrorist-attack-fatalities". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  15. ^ a b c "terrorist-activity-pakistan-jan-2017". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  16. ^ a b c "terrorist-activity-pakistan-jan-2018". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  17. ^ a b c "terrorist-activity-pakistan-jan-2019". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  18. ^ "21 People killed in Quetta blast". dunyanews.tv. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  19. ^ a b "Radd-ul-Fasad was aimed at destroying support base of terrorists: DG ISPR". ARY NEWS. 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Former TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan has surrendered: ISPR". The Express Tribune. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
  21. ^ "datasheet-terrorist-attack-surrender". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  22. ^ "datasheet-terrorist-attack-arrest". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  23. ^ "datasheet-terrorist-attack-other-data". satp.org. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Radd-ul-Fasaad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Pak Army announced the Radd ul Fasad Operation". jang.com.pk.
  26. ^ "Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad". ispr.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2017.