RAWALPINDI (The Thursday Times) — Security forces killed nine Indian-sponsored terrorists in two intelligence-based operations in Balochistan’s Kachhi and Wadh districts, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday.
The operations were carried out on October 26 on the reported presence of terrorists from Fitna al-Hindustan, the name the state uses for Balochistan-based terrorist groups it says are backed by India, Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.
Hideout busted in Kachhi
In Kachhi, troops raided a terrorist hideout and killed seven terrorists in an exchange of fire, the ISPR said. In Wadh, in Khuzdar district, forces “tracked and intercepted terrorist movement” and killed two more. Weapons and ammunition were recovered at both sites.
“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the statement said, adding that the counter-terrorism campaign under the Azm-e-Istehkam plan would continue “at full pace” to “wipe out [the] menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country”.
A province under strain
Balochistan has seen a sustained wave of attacks on security forces, workers and travellers this year, and the military has reported dozens of terrorists killed in a series of operations across the province in recent weeks. Pakistan accuses India of backing the groups; New Delhi denies it. The ISPR statement came a day after Pakistan destroyed Afghan Taliban posts following deadly cross-border fire into South Waziristan.
