KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani forces killed 13 militants in two separate operations in Balochistan province, near the Afghan border, the military said on Wednesday, as Islamabad steps up counterterrorism efforts in its restive northwest regions.
In a statement posted on X, the Pakistan Army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the operations were “intelligence-based” and carried out in the districts of Quetta and Kech.
During the Quetta operation on Tuesday, the army said it killed ten militants described as “Indian-sponsored Khwarij,” a term Islamabad uses for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
In Kech district, three militants linked to “Fitna al Hindustan,” a label Islamabad uses for the Baloch separatist group Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), were killed. The army also said it seized multiple weapons and explosives from the hideouts, indicating that the militants were preparing attacks in the region.
The operations come a day after a suicide bombing outside a paramilitary headquarters in Quetta killed at least 10 people, highlighting the ongoing security challenges in the region.
Violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has surged since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Militant groups, including the TTP and BLA, have intensified attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, targeting security forces and government installations.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of providing safe havens to TTP leaders and fighters, allowing them to plan and coordinate attacks from Afghan territory. The Taliban have rejected these claims, saying foreign militants do not operate from Afghanistan and describing Pakistan’s security issues as internal matters.
Last month, following a deadly TTP attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a stern warning to the Taliban, urging them to take action against militants. He said: “Today, I want to give a clear message to Afghanistan — to choose between Pakistan and the TTP. If the Taliban continues to allow safe havens, Pakistan will have nothing to do with the interim Afghan government.”
