Military says 43 militants killed in Pakistan’s restive northwest and southwest this week

• Security forces gunned down 18 militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 25 in Balochistan
• Pakistan has struggled to curb militancy, blaming Afghanistan for the surge in recent years

ISLAMABAD: Security forces have killed 43 militants in intelligence-based operations (IBOs) this week in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces that border Afghanistan, the Pakistani military’s media wing said on Friday, as the South Asian nation steps up its fight to curb militancy.
On night of December 12-13, security forces conducted an IBO in KP’s Lakki Marwat district and killed six militants. Since 9 December, 18 militants have been killed in the province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Security forces, after an intense fire exchange, neutralized 10 militants in two separate IBOs in Musa Khel and Panjgur districts of Balochistan on Dec. 13, leaving 25 militants dead in the region this week.
“These operations will continue till peace in the area is restored and khawrij [militants] are eliminated, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan has struggled to contain surging militancy in KP since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or the Pakistani Taliban, and the state broke down. Since then, the TTP has increased attacks against Pakistan’s security forces.
The remote Balochistan province, which is home to the Gwadar Port, built by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $65 billion investment in President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, has seen an increase in strikes by separatist militants this year.
Pakistan’s military has a huge presence in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, and has long run intelligence-based operations against insurgent groups, which accuse the central government of exploiting Balochistan’s mineral and gas resources. The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it is working to uplift the region through development initiatives.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.