By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Security forces killed three Indian-sponsored terrorists during an intelligence-based operation in the restive southwestern province of Balochistan on Sunday, amid a surge in attacks that has plagued the region despite aggressive counterterrorism efforts.
The raid took place in Panjgur District, a remote area near the Iranian border, where troops acted on reports of the militants’ presence, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations, the Pakistani military’s media arm. In an intense exchange of fire, the forces “effectively engaged the terrorists’ location,” resulting in the deaths of the three men, including a local commander identified as Farooq, who went by the alias Soro. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the site, the statement said, adding that the militants had been “actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area.” Sanitization operations were underway to root out any remaining threats.
The military labeled the militants as belonging to “Fitna al Hindustan,” a term Pakistani officials use for Baloch separatist groups they accuse India of backing to destabilize the country by targeting security personnel. Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, which shares porous borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has been a hotbed for a long-simmering separatist rebellion. Groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Balochistan Liberation Front have waged a low-level insurgency for years, demanding greater autonomy or independence and accusing the central government of exploiting the province’s vast natural resources while neglecting its people.
Pakistan has long pointed the finger at India for fueling the unrest, a charge that has strained relations between the nuclear-armed neighbors. The tensions have played out in a cycle of cross-border allegations, with Islamabad claiming that Indian intelligence agencies provide support to the militants as a proxy war.
Sunday’s raid follows a string of similar actions by security forces in recent weeks. Earlier this month, four militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Kalat District. And just days ago, counterterrorism police in the province reported killing five militants who were plotting to block the Quetta-Sibi highway and ambush security convoys. In that encounter, officials seized seven hand grenades, five submachine guns with ammunition and three motorcycles.
Despite these crackdowns, militancy in Pakistan showed no signs of abating last year. A report from the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies documented a 34 percent rise in terrorist attacks in 2025 compared with the previous year, along with a 21 percent increase in related fatalities, even as security forces reported record numbers of militant deaths.
The military vowed to press on with its campaign, stating that forces would “continue their counter terrorism campaign at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country under the vision of ‘Azm e Istehkam,’” a national strategy aimed at stabilizing volatile areas like Balochistan. For residents of Panjgur and surrounding districts, the persistent conflict has exacted a heavy toll, disrupting daily life in a region already grappling with poverty, underdevelopment and sporadic clashes that often spill into civilian areas.
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