Pakistan security forces kill 54 terrorists in Balochistan operations: Military

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military said on Wednesday that security forces have killed 54 terrorists in ongoing operations across the southwestern province of Balochistan following a series of coordinated attacks that left dozens of civilians and security personnel dead.

Speaking at a press briefing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said security forces, backed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies, were continuing operations against terrorist groups at multiple locations across the province.

“Army, Frontier Corps, law enforcement agencies, security forces and intelligence agencies are engaging them on the ground and from the air, and all of them will be brought to the conclusion they deserve,” Chaudhry said.

The briefing came after three major terrorist attacks over the past four days in Balochistan, including assaults on civilians in Hanna Urak, a police checkpoint near Ziarat's Mangi Dam pumping station, and an Army convoy in the Dela Bandar area. The military said the attacks martyred 42 civilians and security personnel, while subsequent counterterrorism operations have so far resulted in the killing of 54 terrorists.

Chaudhry said the first attack occurred on the night of July 4-5, when terrorists belonging to what Pakistan refers to as Fitna al-Khawarij attacked civilians in the Hanna Urak area.

“The local people fought back on their own very valiantly and bravely, and they forced those terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al-Khawarij to flee from that area,” he said.

He added that four civilians were martyred and six others injured during the attack.

The military spokesperson said the second incident took place on July 6, when terrorists launched what he described as a “multi-directional attack” on a Balochistan Police checkpoint protecting infrastructure linked to the Mangi Dam water supply system in Ziarat district.

He said nine police personnel were martyred during the initial assault before reinforcements reached the area, adding that security forces later recovered the bodies of 15 terrorists during subsequent operations.

Chaudhry said the broader operation against the attackers remains underway and that additional terrorist casualties had been confirmed during ongoing engagements.

Pakistani authorities officially use the term Fitna al-Khawarij to refer to the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), drawing on a historical Islamic reference to underscore the group's attacks on civilians, security forces and state institutions.

Addressing the broader security situation, Chaudhry said the recent attacks formed part of what he described as a coordinated campaign against Pakistan.

“India is orchestrating them,” he said.

“They are being carried out with the support of hostile forces aligned with India that cannot tolerate Pakistan's dignity, prosperity and stability.”

The military spokesperson also said terrorist groups were operating from Afghan territory.

“They are using territories under the control of this illegitimate Afghan Taliban regime as a base of operation,” he said.

The military spokesman said that “we will take on each and every terrorist, their facilitator, those who harbor them, those who furnished them those who provide them bases.”

The ISPR spokesman reaffirm that Pakistan have “clarity and resolve, adding ”The armed forces, under the leadership of the Field Marshal, and under the political guidance of the government, have absolute clarity about what to do with them."

 He added that such attacks would not alter Pakistan's counterterrorism resolve.

“They think that by carrying out such acts, they can deter us,” Chaudhry said.

“I have said this before, and I will say it again: you can only deter someone who knows how to be deterred. There is no one in this world who can deter the State of Pakistan.”

He said security operations would continue until all terrorists and their support networks were dismantled.