An army major has been martyred while four terrorists have been killed during an Intelligence-Based Operations (IBO) in Balochistan, the military’s media wing said on Monday.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed that security forces carried out operations in Jattakabad in Kalat district and Shadi Kaur and Pasni in Gwadar district following reports of terrorist hideouts.
Security forces conducted an IBO in Jattakabad on October 18, killing four terrorists and recovering a large cache of arms and ammunition.
In a separate operation in the Shadi Kaur and Pasni areas of Gwadar, security forces launched clearance operations to search for terrorists.
The military’s media wing added that Major Wajahat Waheed, 34, a resident of Lahore who was leading the operation, was martyred in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack.
“Sanitisation operations will continue to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. The relentless counter-terrorism campaign under the vision of ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’, as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, will continue at full pace.”
The ISPR added that security forces and law enforcement agencies remained committed to eliminating foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.
The latest operations come amid an increase in terrorist activity in Balochistan, where security forces have stepped up counter-terrorism efforts.
A day earlier, security forces killed eight India-sponsored terrorists during IBOs in Quetta, Nushki and Khuzdar districts.
On the night of October 12 and 13, security forces killed five terrorists during an operation against a hideout in Washuk district, the ISPR said.
Earlier this month, Balochistan government officials said security forces had arrested six members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), two suspected female suicide bombers and two commanders of a banned organisation during operations across the province. They added that around 90 arrested terrorists were being held at a centre where investigations and legal proceedings were under way.
The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) reported that terrorist attacks in Balochistan rose from 83 in July to 89 in August, an increase of seven percent. The report identified Balochistan as the province most affected by terrorism.
