By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed 12 militants in an intelligence-led operation in the restive southern district of Kalat, Balochistan, on Saturday, according to a statement from the military’s public relations arm, amid a surge in terrorist attacks that has plagued the region.
The operation targeted militants affiliated with “Fitna-al-Hindustan,” a term used to denote Balochistan-based terrorist groups and to underscore allegations of Indian involvement in fomenting instability in Pakistan.
The Inter-Services Public Relations said in its statement on Sunday that forces “effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, 12 Indian-sponsored terrorists were sent to hell.” Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the militants, who were “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the statement said.
It added that “sanitisation operations” were underway to root out any remaining militants, as part of a broader counterterrorism drive under the banner of “Azm-i-Istehkam,” a strategy approved by the federal apex committee on the National Action Plan. The ISPR emphasised that the “relentless counter-terrorism campaign” by security forces and law enforcement agencies “will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and -supported terrorism from the country.”
The raid comes against a backdrop of escalating violence in Pakistan, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the breakdown of a ceasefire between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in November 2022. Militant groups have intensified attacks on security personnel, civilians and infrastructure, prompting a series of military responses.
Just a day earlier, on Saturday, the ISPR reported that 14 militants had been killed in three separate intelligence-based operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district and Balochistan’s Tank district. Earlier in the week, seven militants were eliminated in two operations in North Waziristan, also in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the forces for the Kalat operation, according to state-run Radio Pakistan. In a statement, Zardari said the state was “fully capable of taking enemies of peace to their end at all costs” and reiterated that the “resolve of the nation will foil every conspiracy of Fitna al Hindustan.”
Sharif, in his remarks, said the security forces were “achieving great successes against terrorism under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam.” “The nation is united against terrorism and is determined to completely eradicate all forms of this menace from the country.”
The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused India of backing separatist insurgents in Balochistan, a mineral-rich province bordering Afghanistan and Iran, where ethnic Baloch nationalists have waged a long-running insurgency against the central authorities. Officials say the “Azm-i-Istehkam” initiative, which translates to “resolve for stability,” aims to integrate military operations with socioeconomic measures to address the root causes of extremism. But critics, including human rights groups, have raised concerns about potential overreach and civilian casualties in such sweeps. Balochistan has been a focal point of these tensions, with frequent clashes between security forces and militants. The province’s strategic location and resources have made it a hotbed for both domestic unrest and alleged foreign interference, complicating efforts to restore peace.
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