ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed 102 suspected militants in counterterrorism operations across the southwestern Balochistan province since July 5, including 64 under the ongoing Operation Shaban, security officials said on Saturday, as authorities pressed ahead with a crackdown following coordinated attacks that killed dozens of people earlier this month.
Pakistan’s military said earlier this week that militants killed 42 people, most of them security personnel, in three coordinated attacks across the province, prompting a large-scale security operation. One of the attacks targeted police posts in the Mangi area, killing nine law enforcement officials and triggering Operation Shaban.
“Operation Shaban continues across Balochistan as the Pakistan Army, FC (Frontier Corps) Balochistan and Police intensify coordinated air and ground operations against terrorist hideouts,” security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.
“The total number of militants killed under Operation Shaban has risen to 64. Since July 5, a total of 102 militants have been killed in Operation Shaban and other intelligence-based operations.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, has long faced a separatist insurgency that has intensified in recent years. Pakistani security forces have also been battling religiously motivated militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in the province.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday blamed Pakistan’s “eastern neighbor,” a reference to India, for backing the attacks in Balochistan, where China has been developing the deep-sea port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea and has made major investments under its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of supporting and Afghanistan of providing safe havens to separatist militants who carry out attacks in the mineral-rich province. New Delhi and Kabul have consistently denied the allegations.
