ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s military on Tuesday announced that security forces had killed 50 militants linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) during a four-day operation in the country’s volatile southwestern Balochistan province, which shares a rugged border with Afghanistan.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 47 militants were killed between August 7 and 9 in the Sambaza area of Zhob district. The statement said that on the night of August 10, troops launched a sanitization operation in surrounding border areas, killing three more militants and bringing the total to 50.
The military described the slain fighters as “Indian-sponsored” and said they were members of the TTP, a banned outfit primarily active in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Weapons, ammunition, and explosives were recovered from their possession.
“The security forces remain committed to safeguarding the nation’s frontiers and defeating any attempt to undermine peace, stability, and progress in Pakistan,” the ISPR said.
Violence has surged in Pakistan’s western border regions since November 2022, when a fragile ceasefire with the TTP collapsed. While the recent infiltration attempt was reported in Balochistan a province already plagued by a separatist insurgency the TTP has traditionally carried out deadly attacks in the northwest, targeting security forces, police, and civilians.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of backing militant groups and Afghanistan of allowing its soil to be used for cross-border attacks. Both New Delhi and Kabul have consistently denied the allegations.
Tensions between Pakistan and India spiked earlier this year after a deadly April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people, most of them tourists. India blamed Pakistan for supporting the attackers, an accusation Islamabad rejected, calling instead for an independent investigation.
The incident triggered the most intense fighting between the two nuclear-armed rivals in decades. From May 6 to May 9, both sides exchanged missile strikes, drone attacks, and artillery fire, leaving over 70 people dead. Hostilities ended on May 10 after U.S. President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire, amid fears the conflict could escalate further.
