Security forces killed at least 92 terrorists during clearance operations in Balochistan after India-backed terrorists launched coordinated attacks across several districts on Saturday, leaving 18 civilians and 15 security personnel martyred.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that terrorists belonging to India-sponsored Fitna al-Hindustan (FAH) carried out multiple attacks on January 31, targeting civilians around Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni.
“Terrorists maliciously targeted 18 innocent civilians (including women, children, elderly and labourers) who embraced shahadat,” read the military’s media wing statement.
The statement said the attacks targeted innocent civilians in Gwadar and Kharan and were intended to disrupt daily life and development in Balochistan.
Security forces and law enforcement agencies responded immediately and launched intense clearance operations across the province, killing 92 India-backed terrorists, including three suicide bombers.
The ISPR stated that security forces “successfully thwarted the evil design of terrorists displaying unwavering courage and professional excellence”.
“Our valiant troops carried out engagement of terrorists with precision,” the statement added.
However, 15 security personnel embraced martyrdom, having fought gallantly during clearance operations and intense standoffs, it added.
Security forces then launched sanitisation operations in the affected areas to bring to justice the instigators, perpetrators, facilitators and abettors of the attacks, targeting civilians and LEAs.
“Intelligence reports have unequivocally confirmed that the attacks were orchestrated and directed by terrorists ring leaders operating from outside Pakistan, who were in direct communication with the terrorists throughout the incident,” the ISPR stated.
The latest attacks come a day after 41 Indian-backed militants were killed in two separate operations in Balochistan, the country’s largest province by land area.
Revealing details of the intelligence-based operations (IBO), ISPR on Friday said that the engagements were carried out on January 29, where 30 India-sponsored terrorists were gunned down on the outskirts of Harnai district.
Meanwhile, 11 more were eliminated in Panjgur district.
Besides weapons and ammunition, looted money from the bank robbery in Panjgur on December 15 last year was also recovered from the killed terrorists, said the military’s media wing.
Meanwhile, mobile data services were suspended in Quetta, while internet services were temporarily shut down in some other parts of Balochistan. Emergency measures were imposed at government hospitals across the province.
Authorities closed the Quetta-Sibi highway at Bolan, shut the Quetta-Karachi-Taftan highway at Lak Pass, and blocked the Qila Saifullah-Rakhni road. In Nasirabad, security forces defused explosive material planted on a railway track.
Later, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also arrived in Quetta to engage in high-level discussions on the law and order situation.
Speaking to the media along with Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti, Naqvi India responsible for a spate of attacks in Balochistan. “These were not normal terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you for sure that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists.”
He said that authorities would go after every single one of those involved and the “masters behind them”.
“We will expose them in the world – the face with which they meet the world and the face with which they support terrorists,” he said. Naqvi said India was the “main country” behind terrorism, saying that it was not only providing financial support to the terrorists but was also aiding them in planning and strategising.
Bugti said the operation against militants was “almost completed,” with details yet to come. He said that the civilian casualties in the terrorist attacks included a Baloch family from Khuzdar.
“Security forces, police and FC repelled the attacks with courage. The militants attempted to boost their morale by attempting such a wide-scale operation,” he said.
However, he maintained that the lethality of the attack was much lower due to the security forces’ response.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while praising the security forces for foiling the terrorist attacks, paid homage to the 10 martyred personnel, saying the entire nation is proud of them.
“We will continue the fight against the menace of terrorism until it is completely eradicated,” the premier remarked.
He stressed that the entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan’s armed forces in their determination to protect the homeland.
While condemning the deadly attacks, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the security forces and LEAs for foiling the attacks.
“I salute the brave sons who thwarted the evil intentions of the terrorists,” he said.
President Asif Ali Zardari commended the army and law enforcement agencies’ (LEAs) professional expertise for foiling “infiltration attempts by Fitna-al-Hindustan terrorists at multiple locations”.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the recent terrorist attacks were “terrorism being run under foreign patronage, whose targets are both Pakistan and the people of Balochistan” and not a struggle for rights.
“These elements neither tolerate development nor peace. That is why they target labourers, travellers, and ordinary citizens, want to destroy development projects and employment opportunities, and conspire against projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he stated in a post on X.