Pakistan reports killing 19 militants in Balochistan

Pakistani security forces have killed 19 militants in a series of counterterrorism operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, the military's media wing said.

The Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR) said the operations targeted members of Fitna al-Khawarij, the name Pakistan uses for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistani Taliban, and Fitna al-Hindustan.

The operations were conducted in the districts of Quetta and Kech. One Pakistani serviceman was killed during clashes with the militants, according to the ISPR.

The military said the operations were launched after intelligence agencies identified militant hideouts in the Shaban area of Quetta district. Security forces have been conducting a clearance operation there since September 21, with 13 militants killed in exchanges of fire, according to the ISPR. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the hideouts, it said.

In separate intelligence-based operations carried out on September 22 and 23 in Kech and western Quetta, security forces killed another six militants, the military said. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered.

The soldier killed in the clashes was identified by the ISPR as 39-year-old Subedar Muhammad Jamil, a resident of Taunsa Sharif in Dera Ghazi Khan district.

The operations come amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and India. Pakistani authorities have increasingly used the collective designation Fitna al-Hindustan for militant organisations they accuse of operating as Indian proxies.

According to ISPR figures cited by Pakistani authorities, security forces killed 2,597 militants in 2025. Pakistan recorded 5,397 terrorist attacks that year, in which 1,235 people were killed.

More than 70% of the attacks took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in northwestern Pakistan, while about 29% occurred in Balochistan in the southwest. Both provinces share lengthy borders with Afghanistan.

Pakistani authorities have repeatedly alleged that militant groups maintain bases or camps in Afghanistan.

By Tamilla Hasanova