By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed five militants, including a suicide bomber, during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Pishin district, the military said Monday, in the latest sign of Islamabad’s intensified counterterrorism campaign in the restive border province.
The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing, said troops engaged a group of militants — described by the military as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” a term it uses for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — after receiving intelligence about their presence. The forces used multiple weapons in what the statement described as an intense firefight. One militant detonated a suicide vest during the clash, while four others were killed, the ISPR said.
Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the site, according to the military, which added that the slain militants had been involved in multiple terrorist activities in the area. Sanitisation operations were continuing to clear any remaining threats, the statement said. “Relentless counter-terrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ … by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”
The Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department confirmed the operation and the militants’ deaths in a separate statement, saying the group had been planning attacks on police lines and Cadet College Pishin.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif both issued statements praising the security forces. Zardari described the raid as striking “Indian-backed Fitna al Khawarij” and said it demonstrated “the nation’s resolve in the fight against terrorism.” He added that the campaign would continue “until the complete eradication of this menace.”
Sharif said the forces were making “great progress against terrorist groups every single day with courage, determination and strength,” according to state-run Radio Pakistan. He reaffirmed that the entire nation stood with the armed forces and law-enforcement agencies.
The operation comes as Pakistani authorities press a broader offensive against militants in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the two provinces that border Afghanistan and have seen a sharp rise in attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Last week the Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department reported that 14 suspected militants were killed in separate actions in Quetta and Barkhan districts. On Feb. 5 the military announced the conclusion of “Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1,” saying 216 terrorists had been killed in days-long clearance operations across Balochistan. That campaign was launched after a coordinated wave of attacks on Jan. 31 that struck civilian and security targets in Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni, leaving 36 civilians — including women — and 22 security personnel dead.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the TTP, the Islamic State affiliate and ethnic Baloch separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army of operating from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. Kabul denies the charges and has urged Islamabad to handle its security concerns without crossing the border.
Tensions between the neighbours escalated further over the weekend when Pakistani forces carried out strikes on militant camps in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces. A Pakistani security official said more than 80 militants were killed in the airstrikes. Islamabad has also accused India of arming and financing militant groups inside Pakistan, an allegation New Delhi has consistently rejected.
Separately, at least five personnel from the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were wounded Monday morning when an explosive-laden quadcopter struck their camp in the Bahadur Khel area of Karak district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said. The injured were identified as Havaldar Sabir and constables Ameen, Zohaib, Murad and Yousaf. A search operation was underway, and no group had claimed responsibility.
Pakistani officials have said such drone attacks — often using commercially available quadcopters modified to carry explosives — have become more frequent since the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, with the TTP and other groups acquiring the technology from there.
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