KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan’s military says at least 71 militants have been killed during security operations in Balochistan province over the past four days.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement on Sunday, September 27, that those killed were members of groups it refers to as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and “Fitna al-Hindustan.” Pakistan uses the former term for the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the latter for Baloch militant groups, including the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
According to the statement, 56 militants were killed in two separate operations in the Shaban area of Quetta, while another 11 “India-backed terrorists” were killed in an operation in Nushki district.
The Pakistani military said six additional members of what it calls “Fitna al-Hindustan” were killed in an operation in Mand.
Overall, the ISPR said, “more than 71 terrorists” had been killed during Operation Shaban and other operations across Balochistan in the previous 96 hours. It described the operation as a major blow to what it called “Afghan proxies backed by India.”
The Pakistani military also alleged that elements linked to the Afghan Taliban were involved in terrorist activities inside Pakistan with Indian support, saying such activities continued to cause casualties and threaten peace and stability.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban authorities of allowing Pakistani militants, particularly the TTP, to operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban authorities reject the accusation and say they do not allow any group to use Afghan soil against other countries.
The latest Pakistani military claims come amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan has carried out several airstrikes against alleged militant targets inside Afghanistan in recent months, while the Taliban authorities have condemned the strikes as violations of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
On September 21, Pakistan said it had carried out strikes against militant targets in Paktika and Kunar provinces, claiming that 28 militants were killed. Taliban authorities and the United Nations, however, reported civilian casualties in the attacks.
The TTP, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, is a separate organization from the Afghan Taliban, although the two have longstanding ideological and organizational ties. The United Nations says the TTP has intensified attacks against Pakistani military and state institutions and that its activities have contributed to a deterioration in relations between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities. The UN has also reported that TTP attacks inside Pakistan increased during 2025.
Balochistan faces a separate armed insurgency involving Baloch separatist groups, most prominently the Balochistan Liberation Army. The BLA has claimed responsibility for major attacks against Pakistani security forces and infrastructure in the province. In January 2026, the group claimed a coordinated wave of attacks across Balochistan; Pakistani authorities said the violence killed dozens of civilians and security personnel.
The United Nations has also identified both the TTP and BLA as part of the broader security challenge linked to Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, allegations by Pakistan that India and the Taliban authorities are directly coordinating or sponsoring militant attacks have been disputed by the parties accused and are not independently established by the latest military statement.
Pakistan’s latest operation comes as militant violence and cross-border tensions continue to put pressure on relations between the two countries. Independent sources have not verified the military’s reported figure of 71 militants killed in the latest operations.
