BALOCHISTAN: According to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operations were conducted on January 29 (Thursday) and resulted in the deaths of militants affiliated with Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is the term used by the state for militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while Fitna-al-Hindustan refers to Balochistan-based militant groups, a designation used to underline India’s alleged involvement in terrorism and destabilisation in Pakistan.
ISPR said intelligence reports indicated the presence of Fitna-al-Khawarij militants on the outskirts of Harnai district, prompting security forces to launch an IBO in the area.
“During the conduct of the operation, own troops effectively engaged the hideout, and after an intense fire exchange, 30 India-sponsored khawarij were sent to hell,” the statement said.
The military added that a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered from the militants and subsequently destroyed.
In a separate operation in Panjgur district, security forces dismantled a militant hideout, where “11 India-sponsored terrorists of Fitna-al-Hindustan were neutralised”, according to ISPR.
The statement further said that arms, ammunition and cash looted during a bank robbery in Panjgur on December 15, 2025, were recovered from the terrorists killed in the second operation.
ISPR noted that “the terrorists were involved in numerous terrorist activities in the past” and added that “sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other India-sponsored terrorists found in the area.”
Emphasising the state’s resolve, the military said, “Relentless counter-terrorism campaign, under vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ (as approved by the federal apex committee on National Action Plan), 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 latest operations came nearly two weeks after security forces killed 12 terrorists and foiled an attempt to create a hostage situation in Balochistan’s Kharan district.
Referring to that incident, ISPR had said that on January 15, “approximately 15 to 20 India-sponsored terrorists of Fitna-al-Hindustan carried out multiple terrorist activities in Kharan City, District Kharan”.
“The terrorists attacked [the] City Police Station, National Bank of Pakistan and Habib Bank Limited. They also looted Rs3.4 million from the banks,” the statement said, adding that security forces responded swiftly, forcing the militants to retreat. During subsequent clearance operations, 12 terrorists were killed in three separate encounters.
More recently, on January 19, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) thwarted an alleged terror plot by a banned group during an operation in the Dasht area of Mastung district, killing five suspected militants.
“A major intelligence-based operation was conducted by Quetta CTD in Dasht after receiving information about the presence of armed men,” a CTD spokesperson had said, adding that the suspects, linked to the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army, were planning to block the Quetta–Sibi Highway and carry out subversive activities.
Pakistan has long grappled with terrorism, and despite high militant casualties, violence surged sharply in 2025. According to a report by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies, terrorist attacks increased by 34 per cent last year, while terrorism-related fatalities rose by 21 per cent year on year.
