Pakistan Reports Over 70 Militants Killed in Intensified Balochistan Operations

ISLAMABAD — Pakistani security forces have killed more than 70 militants during a series of intelligence-based operations across the southwestern province of Balochistan this week, the military announced on Sunday, signaling a significant escalation in efforts to quell a long-running insurgency in the mineral-rich region.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and least developed province, shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan and has endured a decades-long separatist insurgency. The area has recently witnessed a surge in attacks by both separatist factions and religiously motivated militant groups.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, security forces killed 11 militants in the Nushki district and six others in Mand. Separately, operations conducted in the Quetta and Ziarat districts under the banner of Operation Shaban have resulted in the deaths of 33 militants since September 21.

In a statement, the ISPR said that more than 71 “terrorists” have been killed in Operation Shaban and other areas of Balochistan over the past 96 hours, dealing what it described as a serious blow to “Indian-backed Afghan proxies.” The military added that forces have cleared a vast area, relieving local communities of threats posed by “Fitna Al-Khawarij”—a term used for the Pakistani Taliban (TTP)—and “Fitna Al-Hindustan,” referring to Baloch separatist militants.

There was no immediate response from New Delhi or Kabul to the allegations. The statement follows heightened tensions and military exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militant attacks in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Islamabad has long accused India of supporting militant groups and Afghanistan of providing them safe havens—charges both capitals consistently deny.

Violence in the region spiked in July when the TTP and Baloch separatist groups launched coordinated assaults in Ziarat and Quetta, killing dozens, including 27 policemen. Pakistani forces have conducted multiple operations in the region since then.

Most recently, at least eight suspected militants and one member of a tribal peace force were killed in the Dera Bugti district on Saturday, after dozens of armed militants attacked the residence of a local administration official and tribal leader, an official confirmed on Sunday.

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