Security forces kill 32 terrorists during operations in KP, Balochistan: ISPR

Security forces have killed 32 terrorists during operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan over the last 24 hours, the military’s media affairs wing said in a statement released on Wednesday. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said “comprehensive joint operations” were carried out in various parts of the two provinces, in continuation of action against the “terrorists nexus of India-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan”. The state uses the term Fitna-al-Khawarij for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and has designated Balochistan-based groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan. ISPR said that the operations in KP and Balochistan were aimed at weeding out terrorists and their facilitators. Multiple “intelligence-based area sanitisation and targeted operations” were conducted in KP’s Khyber on July 28 and 29, during which 24 terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij were killed, it said. Meanwhile, eight terrorists belonging to Fitna-al-Hindustan were killed after an “intense engagement” in Balochistan’s Nushki during multiple intelligence-based operations, ISPR added. “Weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices used by terrorists were also recovered and destroyed during the operations,” it said. “Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other India-sponsored terrorist found in the area. Relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” the ISPR statement read. The latest operations by the security forces in KP and Balochistan take place as the two provinces continue to face security challenges. Earlier this month, security forces and law enforcement personnel jointly launched Operation Shaban in Balochistan in retaliation for a deadly attack on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat on July 6. During that assault, armed attackers kidnapped and killed 27 police officers. Later, security forces also launched Operation Al-Azm in the province after a shooting on a Karachi-bound coach coming from Quetta claimed three lives and injured five others last week. In KP, terrorists attempted to breach a joint police checkpost’s perimeter in Tank on July 24, and according to ISPR, the attempt was “swiftly and decisively foiled” by security forces, who eliminated 12 terrorists. A monthly security assessment released in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said that after two consecutive months of improvement, Pakistan’s security situation deteriorated sharply in May, driven primarily by escalating terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The report said Balochistan emerged as the most affected province during the month. The province recorded 71 terrorist attacks, compared with 34 in April, representing a 109pc increase. The deteriorating security situation was further reflected in a surge in kidnappings, it said. Of the 54 abductions reported nationwide during May, 52 occurred in Balochistan alone, highlighting the growing operational reach and confidence of terrorist groups in the province, it said.