Quetta: Pakistani security forces have killed 48 Indian sponsored terrorists during multiple anti-terror operations across Balochistan over the past three days, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday.

According to the military's media wing, the intelligence-based operations (IBOs) targeted groups designated by the state as "Fitna-al-Hindustan" and "Fitna-al-Khawarij" across Mastung, Quetta, Kalat, and Sibi districts. The state uses Fitna-al-Khawarij to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and designates Balochistan-based militant groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan.

Giving a breakdown of the actions, the ISPR stated that 6 terrorists were killed during an operation in Mastung district following an exchange of fire. Security forces also recovered and destroyed a cache of ammunition and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at the scene.

In the Shaban area of Quetta district, forces identified four hideouts and killed twenty-six terrorists in the ensuing firefight. In Kalat district, a raid on a hideout resulted in the deaths of two terrorists. This followed an earlier IBO in Kalat on 2 September, in which twelve terrorists were killed.

Meanwhile, in the Bhag area of Sibi district, security forces killed two terrorists while foiling an attempted attack on a local police station.

Addressing the Bhag incident, Shahid Rind, aide to the Balochistan chief minister on political and media affairs, said about forty terrorists armed with heavy weapons, rocket launchers, machine guns, sniper rifles, and hand grenades launched a coordinated attack on the police station, a national bank, and the assistant commissioner’s office.

Rind confirmed that police officers engaged the attackers for nearly two hours, preventing them from taking control of the station or seizing weapons. A Bomb Disposal Unit defused an IED planted at the bank, and the attackers were forced to retreat. Two police personnel and three civilians were injured during the assault and are receiving medical treatment.

President Asif Ali Zardari praised the security forces, stating that the elimination of more than 1,188 terrorists in Balochistan this year demonstrates the scale of the threat and the readiness of the military. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also commended the operations for thwarting plans to destabilise the region.

The operations come amid heightened militant activity in the province. On 31 August, 10 terrorists and six security personnel were killed during an attack on a Customs House in Pishin district. On the same day, 11 terrorists were killed in Chagai after attacking a convoy associated with the Reko Diq project, while two others were killed in Washuk. According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, terrorist incidents in Balochistan rose by seven per cent in August.