Three more militants killed in Balochistan operation, total rises to 67, state media says

Security forces killed three more militants during the ongoing Operation Shaban in Balochistan province on Sunday, bringing the total killed in the campaign to 67, state broadcaster PTV News reported.

The joint operation follows a July 7 attack on police in the Mangi Dam area.

How many militants have been killed in Operation Shaban?

Security forces have killed 67 militants so far in Operation Shaban, according to state broadcaster PTV News. The broadcaster said the combined toll from Operation Shaban and other intelligence-based operations across Balochistan since July 5 has reached 105. Air and ground operations against Fitna-al-Khawarij, the state's term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, are continuing.

What triggered Operation Shaban?

The operation targets militants accused of attacking a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in the Shaban area of Quetta district. Authorities say the assault killed 27 police personnel in total. Security sources said nine officers were killed during the initial attack, while 18 others were abducted at gunpoint and later killed, with their bodies found in the Zarghoon Gar mountains.

Security sources said Pakistani forces, including the army, Frontier Corps and police, have been carrying out the joint operation in the Shaban area since July 5.

What has Pakistan's leadership said about the operation?

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan's civilian and military leadership had jointly decided to eliminate terrorism following a series of major militant incidents in Balochistan. He made the remarks while chairing a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee on the National Action Plan in Quetta. Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir attended the meeting.

"One thing is decided: it is a mutual and singular decision of the civil and military leadership that we must end terrorism collectively," Sharif said.

The meeting took place a day after Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said at least 42 people, including four civilians, 27 police personnel and 11 security personnel, had been killed in militant attacks and subsequent operations in Balochistan since July 5.