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Pakistan Army Kills 41 Militants in Separate Operations in Balochistan

By Imran Nasir

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s military said on Friday that security forces killed 41 militants in two intelligence-based operations carried out in the southwestern province of Balochistan, according to a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The operations were conducted on January 29, 2026, targeting militant hideouts in Harnai and Panjgur districts. ISPR said the militants belonged to groups it described as Fitna al Khwarij and Fitna al Hindustan, which it alleged were operating as Indian proxies.

In the first operation, troops carried out an intelligence-based raid on the outskirts of Harnai district following reports of militant presence. Security forces engaged the hideout, killing 30 militants after an intense exchange of fire. A large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered and destroyed at the site, the statement said.

In a separate operation in Panjgur district, security forces busted another militant hideout, killing 11 militants. ISPR said weapons, ammunition and cash looted during a bank robbery in Panjgur on December 15, 2025, were recovered from the site. The militants were said to have been involved in multiple attacks in the past.

The military said follow-up sanitization operations are under way to eliminate any remaining militants in the area. ISPR added that Pakistan’s counterterrorism campaign under the vision of “Azm-e-Istehkam”, approved by the Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan, will continue to eliminate what it described as foreign-sponsored militancy.

Militant attacks have surged in Pakistan’s western and southwestern regions in recent years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Islamabad has repeatedly said that Kabul allowing militants linked to terrorist group the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who are based in Afghanistan, to operate from Afghan territory and carry out cross-border attacks inside Pakistan.

Tensions escalated further in October, when clashes were reported along the border, prompting Pakistan to close all border crossings with Afghanistan and suspend trade ties with Kabul.