ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed more than 70 militants in a series of operations across Balochistan over the past four days, the military’s media wing said on Sunday, claiming the operations had dealt a major blow to militant groups allegedly backed by India.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), more than 71 militants belonging to what it described as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan” were killed during operations in different parts of the province.
The ISPR said intelligence agencies had identified several militant hideouts in the Shaban area of Quetta district, which it said posed a threat to local communities.
Acting on intelligence, security forces launched an operation in Ziarat and adjoining areas on Sept 21, according to the statement.
The operation, described by the ISPR as Operation Shaban, involved intense exchanges of fire and the clearance of several militant hideouts.
The military said 33 militants had been killed in the initial phase, while weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the sites.
The operation was intensified over the past 72 hours, during which another 23 militants were killed, the ISPR said. Security forces also cleared a large area and removed what it described as the threat to local communities.
The clearance operation was continuing to ensure that the militant threat was fully eliminated, the statement added.
In a separate intelligence-based operation in Nushki district on Sept 25, security forces killed 11 militants at a hideout, according to the ISPR. Six others were killed in an operation in Mand, with a large quantity of weapons and ammunition recovered.
“More than 71 terrorists have been killed so far in Operation Shaban and other areas of Balochistan in the last 96 hours,” the ISPR said.
The military alleged that the Afghan Taliban government’s involvement in militant activity inside Pakistan, with alleged Indian backing, remained a source of insecurity and continued to threaten regional peace and stability.
It said security forces and law-enforcement agencies would continue counterterrorism operations against what it termed foreign-sponsored militancy.
Pakistan has reported a rise in attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly called on the Afghan authorities to prevent their territory from being used by militant groups for attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan maintains that the Afghan Taliban administration has not taken effective action against organisations it holds responsible for attacks on Pakistani security personnel and civilians.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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