Pak forces kill 22 more terrorists in Balochistan, death toll rises to 177

Pakistani security forces overnight killed 22 terrorists, raising the death toll of militants to 177 in the last two days in Balochistan after coordinated terror attacks at multiple places in the restive southwestern province, security officials said on Monday.

Pakistani security forces overnight killed 22 terrorists, raising the death toll of militants to 177 in the last two days in Balochistan after coordinated terror attacks at multiple places in the restive southwestern province, security officials said on Monday. The counter-terror operation was launched after militants, including two female suicide bombers, belonging to ethnic Baloch groups carried out coordinated attacks across 12 towns, targeting civilians in Quetta, Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, Panjgur, Tump, Gwadar and Pasni early Saturday. The death toll of terrorists in counter-terror operations in the last two days has increased to 177, according to security officials. ''Since Sunday night, security forces have killed 22 more terrorists,'' Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the provincial government, said on Monday. He said that 167 bodies have been sent to hospitals so far for future processing and identification. Rind said most of the terrorists killed belonged to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and had support from other insurgent groups. ''These terrorists have been killed over a period of over two days during the attacks or when security forces chased them and started clean-up operations,'' he added. On Sunday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that the security forces were prepared and timely retaliated to push back the attackers, killing 150 terrorists. The military and the state have designated these terrorists belonging to insurgent groups or the Tehreek-e-Taliban as ''Fitna-al-Hindustan'', a term the government uses claiming that the militants allegedly receive support from Indian intelligence agencies. Due to the ongoing clean-up operations at various locations, mobile and internet services were suspended in Quetta, Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar, Nushki, Dalbandin, Kharan, and other cities. Balochistan's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Hamza Shafqaat told the media that the services would resume on Tuesday. The terrorists attacked multiple security and government installations at 12 towns and cities in the province on Saturday. So far, authorities have confirmed the death of at least 17 personnel of the police, frontier corps and security forces. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the attacks were carried out by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which also killed at least 31 civilians. In an interview with Geo News, Bugti rejected the reports claiming the number of attackers was 1,000 to 2,000, saying their number was not more than 200 to 250. He said that the overall strength of militant networks in the province was estimated to be between 4,000 and 5,000. Security forces engaged the terrorists in gun battles across the province. Bugti on Sunday expressed firm resolve to eliminate the insurgent groups unless they surrendered and laid down their weapons. In Islamabad, the Senate unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the spate of terrorist attacks in Balochistan. The resolution urged the government to ensure a transparent, swift and conclusive investigation into the incidents, and bring the perpetrators, facilitators, and local and international sponsors of terrorism to justice in accordance with the law. Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency. Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the USD 60 billion CPEC projects. In 2025, the BLA claimed responsibility for the March hijacking of the Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, killing 31 civilians and security personnel and holding hostage over 300 passengers. PTI CORR/SH ZH ZH ZH

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