Pakistan confronts an evolving militant threat on two fronts

Pakistan's military has intensified nationwide intelligence-based operations against militants, killing more than 150 militants over the past 12 days as it seeks to contain a worsening insurgency in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the latest episode of On My Radar, Kamran Khan said the military's nationwide "sanitisation campaign" was continuing under Operation Shaban and the Azm-e-Istehkam initiative, spanning from Quetta and Ziarat in Balochistan to Bannu and Lower Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The military says the campaign targets Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan, groups it accuses of undermining Pakistan's security and economic progress.

Security forces killed 24 militants in Bannu alone during the previous 24 hours, taking the total number of militants killed nationwide to more than 150 over the past 12 days. The campaign combines ground assaults with air strikes in what has become one of the military's most extensive counterterrorism operations in recent months.

The security situation remains particularly fragile in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with Balochistan emerging as the centre of the latest insurgency. While separatist groups allegedly backed by India have long operated in the province, the recent expansion of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) into Balochistan represents a significant new security challenge.

The attack in Ziarat is presented as evidence that anti-Pakistan militant groups are increasingly operating in coordination. Between July 6 and July 8, a series of attacks across Balochistan killed 42 security personnel, underscoring the scale and intensity of the violence.

According to the analysis, the TTP has expanded its footprint in Balochistan, pointing to the reported assault on Hena Urak and the group's claim of responsibility for the killing of 30 police personnel at Mangi Dam.

It also reiterates Pakistan's longstanding position that India supports militant attacks inside the country by using Afghan territory and Afghan nationals. India has consistently denied allegations that it backs militant groups operating in Pakistan.

The deteriorating security situation was also evident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where two major militant attacks a day earlier left three security personnel dead and 20 others injured. In the first incident, militants attacked police conducting a search operation in Lower Dir. Hours later, an explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into the Miryan police station in Bannu, triggering a prolonged exchange of gunfire with security forces.

Citing figures from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), the program notes that nearly 96% of all violence-related deaths recorded in Pakistan this year have occurred in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with security forces remaining the primary targets.

More than 300 security personnel have been killed during the first seven months of 2026, compared with 590 during all of 2025, highlighting the sustained pressure on Pakistan's security forces.

It concludes that "search and kill" operations will continue until the last militant is eliminated, while arguing that military action alone will not be sufficient. Defeating militancy, it says, will also require national unity against both terrorism and the ideology that fuels it.