QUETTA: Security forces have killed more than 71 militants in a series of counter-terrorism operations across Balochistan over the past 96 hours, according to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
ISPR said intelligence agencies had identified multiple hideouts of what it described as Indian-sponsored militants belonging to Fitna Al-Khawarij and Fitna Al-Hindustan in the Shaban area of Quetta district.
Based on intelligence information, security forces launched an operation in Ziarat and surrounding areas on September 21, 2026. During the operation, troops engaged militants and cleared several hideouts.
According to the military, 33 militants have been killed so far during the operation, while weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered.
The statement said the operation was intensified over the past 72 hours, resulting in the deaths of 23 militants. Security forces have also cleared a large area and removed what the military described as a threat to local communities.
In a separate intelligence-based operation in Nushki district on September 25, security forces targeted a militant hideout and killed 11 militants, according to the statement.
The military further said that six militants belonging to Fitna Al-Hindustan were killed in another operation in Mand, with a large quantity of weapons and ammunition recovered.
The statement put the overall number of militants killed in Operation Shaban and other areas of Balochistan at more than 71 over the past 96 hours.
The military attributed the militant activity to what it described as Afghan Taliban-backed and India-sponsored terrorism and said the operations were aimed at countering foreign-sponsored militant networks.
The statement added that the counter-terrorism campaign being conducted under the framework of “Azm-e-Istehkam,” approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue.
Security forces and law-enforcement agencies, it said, remain committed to combating terrorism and eliminating foreign-sponsored militant networks from the country.
