By Staff Reporter
QUETTA: Security forces have killed at least nine militants during a series of intelligence-led operations across three districts of Balochistan, officials said on Tuesday, as the armed forces continue a sustained push against insurgent networks operating in the restive province.
The killings took place in Ziarat, Harnai and Surab districts as part of Operation Rad-ul-Fitna-3, the military’s ongoing campaign targeting militant groups blamed for a string of attacks in the region. Officials briefed on the operations said troops acted on specific intelligence tip-offs in each case.
The most significant of the raids unfolded in the mountainous terrain straddling Ziarat and Harnai, where security personnel located and encircled a militant hideout following credible information about its whereabouts. Eight terrorists were killed once the compound was surrounded, according to officials, who said the hideout itself was subsequently destroyed in the operation.
A separate raid was carried out in Hajika village, in the Surab district, where forces killed a ninth militant. Officials said troops had been tracking suspicious movement between the Dasht Katai and Hajika areas before the operation was launched.
Weapons and equipment recovered from the militants included ammunition, magazines, hand grenades, walkie-talkies and a motorcycle, officials said, adding that the items would assist ongoing investigations into the networks involved.
A military statement said operations of this kind would continue “without interruption” until militancy in the province was brought to an end and lasting peace restored — language that has become a consistent refrain in official communications throughout the current phase of the campaign.
Tuesday’s operations follow a similar raid a day earlier in Balochistan’s Killi Zaik area, in which security forces killed two militants and wounded three others. That, in turn, came less than 48 hours after a raid in Kharan district in which seven fighters described by officials as India-backed were killed.
The frequency of the operations reflects the scale of the security challenge facing Pakistan in its western province, where militant violence has escalated markedly since the Taliban’s return to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have borne the brunt of the resulting instability, with both provinces recording sharp increases in attacks on security forces and civilians alike.
Data compiled by the Centre for Research and Security Studies underscores the severity of the trend. The think tank’s assessment of the second quarter of 2026 found that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan together accounted for nearly 96 percent of all violence-related deaths recorded nationwide during the period, with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa now established as the country’s worst-affected region.
Of the total fatalities logged in the quarter, more than 61 percent — 475 deaths — were recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Balochistan accounted for a further 34 percent, or 265 deaths. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also registered the highest number of violent incidents overall, with 151 cases amounting to 57 percent of the national total, followed by Balochistan with 94 incidents, representing 35 percent.
Together, the figures point to a conflict increasingly concentrated in Pakistan’s two western provinces, where security forces have stepped up operational tempo in recent months even as militant groups continue to mount attacks against military and civilian targets.
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