197 terrorists killed, 22 security personnel martyred in Balochistan operations: state media

Pakistan’s security forces have killed a total of 197 terrorists belonging to the banned ‘Fitna al-Hindustan’ militant group in continuing counterterrorism operations in Balochistan for the past three days with 22 security personnel having been martyred, state media reported on Tuesday.

The government has designated the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) militant group and other Baloch groups as “Fitna al-Hindustan”, alleging they are acting as proxies of India to destabilise Pakistan through hybrid warfare.

In a post on X, state broadcaster PTV News said, quoting security sources: “197 terrorists of Fitna al-Hindustan have been killed in the ongoing counter-terrorism operations for the past three days. Some follow-up and sanitisation operations against these terrorists are still ongoing.”

It said 22 security personnel from the army, Frontier Corps, police, and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency were martyred while protecting civilians and the country. Meanwhile, it said 36 civilians, including women and children, had lost their lives in the terrorist attacks.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, terrorists had launched coordinated attacks at several locations on Saturday, targeting security installations and civilian areas across Quetta, Mastung, Noshki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni.

Security forces responded with sustained clearance operations and standoffs, killing 92 terrorists on the first day. The military said 18 civilians were also killed, while 15 security personnel “fought gallantly and embraced martyrdom” during the operations.

A day ago, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that Pakistan needed to deploy large numbers of troops in Balochistan because of the province’s vast geography amid the serious security situation and recent spate of attacks.

Speaking in the National Assembly (NA) on the matter, Asif said: “Balochistan constitutes over 40% of Pakistan geographically … to control it is much difficult than a populated city or area and it needs deployment of massive forces. Our troops are deployed there and are in action against them (terrorists) but they are physically handicapped by guarding and patrolling such a big area.”

The defence minister said the government tightened enforcement to curb smuggling, triggering a major protest at the Chaman border. He said some people argue the state should negotiate with nationalist movements, but claimed the protest movement was driven by commercial interests rather than politics or nationalism.

Meanwhile, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti had described the operation as one of the most extensive intelligence-led actions conducted in such a short timeframe. He said the crackdown followed a series of coordinated assaults claimed by the BLA.

Asif said on Sunday that Pakistan’s findings showed that “all the linkages point towards India” in the recent attacks.

Security sources had also claimed that Indian media outlets and India-linked social media accounts amplified support for Fitna al-Hindustan during the attacks, which they described as part of a coordinated hostile information campaign.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had also directly held India responsible on Saturday, alleging that New Delhi was involved in planning and backing the incidents and vowing to expose what he described as its role before the international community.

The attacks were unanimously condemned by the country’s political stakeholders with resolutions against them passed in the Senate and NA.