Security forces killed eight India-backed militants in three intelligence-based operations across the districts of Quetta, Nushki and Khuzdar in Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Sunday.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the operations were carried out on October 17 on reports of the presence of militants belonging to what it described as the Indian proxy Fitna al-Hindustan.
Five of the militants were killed in the Panjpai area of Quetta district when security forces intercepted them as they were attempting to set up a roadblock to disrupt local traffic, the statement said.
In Nushki district, troops busted a militant hideout during a sanitisation operation. Two India-backed militants were killed after what the ISPR described as an intense exchange of fire, and weapons and ammunition were recovered from the site.
A third operation in Khuzdar district targeted another hideout with what the statement called prompt offensive action, killing one militant. Security forces also recovered 490 kilogrammes of explosives, it added.
The ISPR said sanitisation operations were under way to eliminate any other militants in the area, adding that security forces and law enforcement agencies would continue counterterrorism operations at full pace under the Azm-e-Istehkam vision.
Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in cross-border militant violence, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to stop militant groups from using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
According to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based independent think tank, 225 militant attacks were recorded across the country in September, compared with 199 in August, marking the third consecutive monthly increase and the highest monthly count in 12 years.
