RAWALPINDI: Security forces have gunned down 47 Indian-backed terrorists during separate operations in Balochistan’s Zhob district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Saturday.
In a statement, the military’s media wing said that the troops eliminated 33 terrorists who were trying to infiltrate through the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border in Zhob’s Sambaza area on the night between August 7-8.
Following the elimination of nearly three dozen terrorists, the security forces launched a deliberate sanitisation operation in the surrounding area, killing 14 more terrorists, the ISPR said.
The ISPR said that once the hunted down terrorists were successfully neutralised, the security forces recovered weapons, ammunition, and explosives from the killed khwarij.
“The security forces remain committed to secur[ing] the nation’s frontiers and thwart[ing] attempts at sabotaging peace, stability and progress of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing added.
The army has previously said India has intensified its proxy war against Pakistan after its defeat in the May conflict, vowing that its proxies will meet the same fate as New Delhi — a crushing defeat.
President Asif Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi have congratulated the forces for killing the 47 militants and also vowed to ensure that the menace of terrorism is eliminated.
In a statement on Saturday, PM Shehbaz lauded the security personnel for their heroic efforts in thwarting infiltration attempts by terrorists.
“Our soldiers risked their lives to protect the country and successfully foiled the nefarious designs of the terrorists,” the prime minister added.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in cross-border terror incidents since Taliban rulers returned to Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
According to a report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, the country witnessed 78 terrorist attacks during the month of June, which resulted in at least 100 deaths.
Among the fatalities were 53 security personnel, 39 civilians, six militants, and two members of local peace committees.
A total of 189 people were injured, including 126 members of the security forces and 63 civilians.
Altogether, the violence and operations led to 175 deaths in June — among them, 55 security personnel, 77 militants, 41 civilians, and two peace committee members.
