By Staff Reporter
QUETTA: The counter-terrorism forces killed 14 suspected militants in two separate gun battles in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan on Wednesday, officials said, as the government presses ahead with operations against insurgent groups amid heightened violence in the region.
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said eight armed men were gunned down during an intelligence-based raid in the Darakhshan area of the provincial capital, Quetta. Three CTD personnel were wounded in the exchange of fire, according to a department spokesperson. “Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, who were said to be affiliated with a banned organisation,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
In a second operation in the remote district of Barkhan, CTD forces killed six militants in another firefight, the spokesperson added. No security personnel were hurt in that clash, and arms, ammunition and explosive materials were seized from the site. “The terrorists were involved in the planning of disruptive actions,” the CTD statement said, without providing further details on the suspects’ identities or specific affiliations. The department reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing efforts to eliminate terrorism in the province.
The operations came a day after 12 militants were killed in a clash with security forces in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Bajaur district, where 11 Pakistani troops died. Officials described those militants as belonging to an India-backed Pakistani Taliban.Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, both bordering Afghanistan, have seen a surge in militant attacks since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, straining Pakistan’s security apparatus and exacerbating tensions along the porous frontier.
The latest actions follow a wave of violence last month, when militants from the India-backed Fitna al-Hindustan — also known as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) — launched coordinated assaults across several districts in Balochistan on Jan. 31. Those attacks killed 36 civilians, including women, and 22 security personnel, according to the military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate.
In retaliation, Pakistani forces initiated Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1, a sweeping counter-offensive that concluded on Feb. 5. The ISPR said at least 216 militants were eliminated during the multi-day clearance operations, with around 180 suspects arrested and a large cache of arms and ammunition recovered by the Frontier Corps and police.
Separately on Wednesday, militants attacked a Pakistan customs office and a nearby police station close to the York Interchange in the southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district of Dera Ismail Khan, a police spokesperson said. Customs official Israr Khan and police constable Muhammad Bilal were killed in the ensuing gunfight. The attackers set two customs vehicles ablaze and fired on passing civilians before fleeing the scene, the spokesperson added. Police launched a search operation in the area, but no arrests were immediately reported.
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area but its least populous, shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan and has long been plagued by a separatist insurgency. Groups like the BLA have targeted security forces, infrastructure projects and civilians, accusing the central government in Islamabad of exploiting the region’s vast natural resources, including gas and minerals, while neglecting local development. Pakistani authorities reject these claims, insisting that foreign elements are fueling the unrest to destabilize the country.
The province’s violence escalated sharply last month, bringing parts of Balochistan to a standstill for days during the coordinated attacks. Security officials have vowed to intensify operations against militant hideouts, but the ongoing insurgency continues to claim lives on both sides. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s incidents in Dera Ismail Khan, and investigations were underway to determine links to broader networks operating in the area.
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