By Staff Reporter
QUETTA: Security forces have killed a commander of the banned Pakistani Taliban who was accused of running the group’s finances, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.
The militant, identified as Adil Shah, also known as Darvesh, killed during an intelligence-based operation in Qila Saifullah, in the north of Balochistan province. The broadcaster said he belonged to “Fitna-al-Khawarij”, the term the state uses for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The phrase draws on the name of an early Islamic sect branded as rebels.
According to the report, Shah had been with the group since December 2020 and had handled its financial affairs since 2024. He was also said to have helped arrange permanent housing in Zhob, Sherani and Shaban districts for “foreign terrorists”. The sources linked him to attacks on security forces and to kidnapping for ransom since 2022.
Nineteen first information reports, the police complaints that open a criminal case, had been registered against him, and a bounty of Rs2.5m had been placed on his head.
The operation took place under “Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-3”, the name given to the current campaign against militants in Balochistan. Security sources told Radio Pakistan the operations would continue until the last militant was eliminated.
Balochistan’s chief minister, Sarfraz Bugti, said in a post on X that the killing showed the security forces’ “professional expertise and readiness”.
Most of the militants whom officials announce as killed in Balochistan are described by the military as members of “Fitna al-Hindustan”, its label for Baloch separatist groups it says India sponsors. Shah was described instead as a member of the Pakistani Taliban, which Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering. Pakistan has repeatedly urged Kabul to stop militant groups using Afghan territory to launch attacks.
The tempo of operations in the province has been high this month. The military said eight militants were killed in three operations in Quetta, Nushki and Khuzdar districts on 17 October, and that 490kg of explosives were recovered. Five were killed in Washuk, and on 10 October the Counter-Terrorism Department killed 10 in Barkhan district. On 19 October an army major and four militants died during operations in the province.
The pace was similar in September. The military said it had killed 48 militants in Balochistan in 72 hours in the first week of the month. Earlier this year, coordinated attacks across the province killed 22 security personnel and 36 civilians, according to the military.
Figures from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) show the violence has not eased. The Islamabad-based think tank recorded 225 attacks nationwide in September, up 13.1 percent from 199 in August and the highest monthly total in 12 years. Deaths linked to militant violence rose 64 percent, from 158 to 259, and injuries rose 33.7 per cent to 242. The institute counted 1,232 militant attacks across the country in the first nine months of 2026.
Balochistan was again the worst-affected province, with 131 attacks, or 58.2 percent of the national total.
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