Security forces kill 74 militants in Balochistan and KP intelligence-based operations: ISPR

Pakistan’s security forces killed 74 militants during a series of intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, dismantling entrenched hideouts and recovering large stockpiles of weapons and explosives, the military said on Friday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the multi-theater engagements form part of an ongoing counter-terrorism campaign targeting groups designated by the state as Indian-backed Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan.

How many militants were killed in Balochistan sanitisation operation?

In Balochistan, security forces have been executing a comprehensive, intelligence-driven area sanitisation operation in the Kurram area since November 3 to clear out insurgent networks and destabilising elements.

The ISPR stated that troops effectively targeted multiple militant hideouts across several coordinated engagements, killing 31 militants. Security personnel also seized substantial quantities of weapons, ammunition, and explosive materials from the cleared compounds.

What unfolded during 48-hour operations in Mir Ali and Orakzai?

Separately, security forces intensified intelligence-based operations across the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan and the Orakzai district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to disrupt militant cells operating in the merged tribal districts.

According to the military’s media wing, troops engaged multiple fortified militant positions over the past 48 hours. Following intense exchanges of fire, 35 militants were killed in Mir Ali and eight in Orakzai, bringing the total number of militants neutralized in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa operations to 43.

During subsequent sanitisation sweeps, security forces recovered a large cache of weapons, ammunition, homemade explosives, and rigged improvised explosive devices (IEDs), thwarting planned terrorist attacks in the region.

What is broader strategic framework guiding ongoing clearance operations?

The ISPR confirmed that sanitisation operations remain underway in the affected sectors to track down and eliminate any remaining militants holed up in surrounding terrain.

Reiterating the military's resolve, the statement affirmed that Pakistan’s security forces and law-enforcement agencies will continue relentless counter-terrorism operations under the vision of “Azm-e-Istehkam”—approved by the Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan—to completely eradicate foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.

The latest operations follow heightened border vigilance and recent clearance sweeps in North Waziristan aimed at dismantling militant hideouts and bomb-making networks.