Security forces kill 22 more terrorists as tally in Balochistan operations reaches 177

QUETTA (Dunya News) – Security forces have killed 22 more terrorists, bringing the total number of casualties to 177 in the past three days.

Security sources said the operation against the terrorists, who are linked to “Fitna-e-Hindustan”, remains ongoing.

They also revealed that security agencies, including intelligence services and the police, are tightening the noose on the terrorists and their facilitators in various regions of Balochistan.

The forces are intensifying their efforts to deal with the terrorist threat, and reports of further casualties among the terrorists and their collaborators have also been confirmed.

A day earlier, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Sunday that at least 145 terrorists had been killed in nearly 40 hours of security operations after the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) carried out coordinated attacks in 12 towns across the province.

Speaking at a press conference here, Bugti said the attacks claimed the lives of 17 security personnel and 31 civilians. He added that the provincial government would take responsibility for the families of those martyred and disclosed that intelligence agencies had already received reports about the planned attacks, prompting authorities to begin operations a day earlier.

The chief minister stated that the bodies of 145 terrorists were now in official custody. He also confirmed that militants in Gwadar had killed five women and three children belonging to a Baloch family from Khuzdar, calling the incident a grave act of brutality.

Bugti accused hostile forces, particularly India, of attempting to destabilise Pakistan through proxy groups like the BLA. He questioned the legitimacy of the group, asking whether it was a registered political party with which talks could be held, and said its objective was to impose its ideology through violence.

Reiterating the government’s stance, Bugti said there would be no surrender under any circumstances. “They can create instability, but they cannot take even an inch of our land,” he said, adding that those responsible would not be allowed to escape and warning that the ground would be made unbearable for terrorists.

He rejected claims that large-scale force was being used in Balochistan, explaining that only limited, intelligence-driven operations were conducted. Bugti said militants often hide among civilians, making operations highly sensitive, and stressed that the state deliberately avoids excessive force to prevent civilian casualties.

Providing a security update, he said terrorists had failed in their attempt to breach the Red Zone and confirmed that Nushki had been fully cleared. He added that operations had already been launched based on intelligence information before the attacks occurred.

Bugti again referred to the killing of a Baloch family in a labour colony in Gwadar and questioned why Baloch people were being pushed into violence at the behest of external forces. He said such incidents tend to occur whenever Pakistan moves toward economic or political stability.

The chief minister said the government was prepared to continue the fight against terrorism for as long as necessary. He dismissed the notion that militancy in Balochistan was solely the result of deprivation, noting that authorities could have used heavy weapons but chose restraint to protect civilians.