ISLAMABAD: Security forces kill over 70 militants in Balochistan IBOs, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), as intelligence-based operations targeted militant hideouts in several parts of the province over a 96-hour period.
The military’s media wing said the operations were carried out in areas including Shaban, Nushki and Mand, with weapons, ammunition and explosives also recovered during the operations.
Security forces kill over 70 militants in Balochistan IBOs during four-day operations
According to the ISPR, security forces launched an operation in the Ziarat and surrounding areas on September 21 after intelligence agencies identified suspected militant hideouts in the Shaban area of Quetta district.
The military said 33 militants were killed during the initial phase of the operation, while several hideouts were cleared and a quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered.
The operation was intensified over the following 72 hours, resulting in the deaths of another 23 militants, according to the ISPR. Security forces also cleared a large area and continued efforts to eliminate remaining threats.
In a separate intelligence-based operation in Nushki district on September 25, security forces targeted a suspected militant hideout and killed 11 militants, the ISPR said.
Another six militants were killed during an operation in Mand, where security forces also recovered weapons and ammunition.
The ISPR said the combined number of militants killed in Operation Shaban and other operations in Balochistan had exceeded 71 over the preceding 96 hours.
ISPR describes Indian & Afghan support for militants
The military’s media wing described the targeted militants using the terms Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan and militant groups involved in attacks in Pakistan receive Indian foreign backing.
Pakistan has repeatedly raised concerns over cross-border militant attacks with the afghan and Indain support, particularly in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad has called on Afghan authorities to prevent militant organisations from using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan.
The ISPR said counterterrorism operations would continue across the country, with security and law-enforcement agencies maintaining efforts against militant threats.
