ISLAMABAD: At least 13 militants have been killed in an ongoing operation in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province this month, Pakistani state media reported on Saturday, following multiple attacks in the restive region.
The development comes after three militant attacks in Balochistan’s Mastung district killed 10 civilians, including a judge and his security guard, prompting authorities to impose a partial curfew in the restive area.
Citing security sources, the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported that intelligence-based operations were ongoing in Khad Kocha area of Mastung district against militants involved in various attacks.
“The number of terrorists killed so far during Operation Al-Azm has reached 13,” the broadcaster reported. “Weapons, ammunition, and materials used for the preparation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also recovered.”
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed province that borders Iran and Afghanistan, has been the site of a long-running separatist insurgency that has intensified in recent years.
Pakistani forces have also been battling religiously motivated militant groups, mainly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in the country’s northwest, where 14 security men and a government official were killed in an attack on a joint security check post this week.
Senior police officials and government functionaries on Friday offered funeral prayers for the slain policemen and soldiers in Tank district of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which borders Afghanistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of supporting and Afghanistan of providing safe havens to militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. New Delhi and Kabul have consistently denied this.
