By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed four militants in a gun battle in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan, the military said on Saturday, accusing them of ties to the Pakistani Taliban and Indian sponsorship in a region long plagued by insurgent violence.
The operation unfolded on Friday in Panjgur district, near the Iranian border, based on intelligence reports of militants from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which Islamabad refers to as Fitna al Khawarij and labels an Indian proxy. “During the conduct of operation, own forces effectively engaged the Khwarij location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored Khwarij were sent to hell,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, said in a statement.
Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the militants, who had been involved in multiple attacks in the area, the statement said. A follow-up search was underway to clear any remaining fighters.
The clash is the latest in a surge of counterinsurgency actions amid escalating militant activity across Pakistan’s western frontiers. Earlier this month, 12 militants were killed in a similar operation in Balochistan’s Kalat district. The military framed Saturday’s announcement as part of a broader campaign under the banner of Azm-i-Istehkam, a nationwide anti-militant drive approved last year by top civilian and military leaders to stem rising attacks on security forces.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailed the operation, vowing to crush the threat. “We’ll foil the nefarious designs of terrorists, who are enemies of humanity,” he said in a statement from his office, adding that the entire nation stands with the armed forces. The government remains determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country, the statement said.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban-led government in neighboring Afghanistan of harboring TTP leaders and fighters, allowing them to launch cross-border assaults — charges that Afghan officials have denied. The TTP, which seeks to impose strict Islamic rule, has primarily operated in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa along the Afghan border, but its presence in Balochistan, though less common, has fueled sporadic violence.
Islamabad has also pointed fingers at India for backing militant groups in both Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, allegations that New Delhi has dismissed. The accusations come against a backdrop of heightened border tensions: In October, fierce clashes with Afghan forces left dozens dead on both sides, prompting Pakistan to close major crossings and bolster frontier security.
Balochistan, the country’s largest province by area but sparsest by population, has endured a decades-long separatist rebellion led by outfits like the Balochistan Liberation Army, compounding the challenges posed by Islamist militants. The military pledged that its “relentless counter terrorism campaign” would continue “at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”
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