Pakistani security forces say they have killed more than 70 militants in Balochistan over a four day period, while several Baloch separatist groups have claimed separate attacks on troops, energy infrastructure and government buildings underscoring the intensity of a conflict that has escalated sharply in recent years.
The military’s media wing reported that operations in and around Quetta, Ziarat, Nushki and other districts eliminated at least 71 fighters, describing them as insurgents backed by foreign sponsors, reported by the Express Tribune. It said the campaign, launched after intelligence on multiple hideouts, had recovered large stocks of weapons and explosives and would continue until the threat was “completely neutralised.”
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the forces, calling the results proof of their professionalism and resolve. Islamabad has framed the surge in violence as part of a wider pattern: global conflict monitors record a near fourfold rise in attacks across Pakistan since 2022, with Balochistan and the north-west bearing the heaviest toll.
On the other side of the narrative, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) announced that its newly formed female unit, the Karima Armed Assault Division, had killed nine soldiers in ambushes near Turbat and along the Quetta–Karachi highway. The group said the unit, named after activist Karima Baloch, was created to challenge “patriarchal domination” and play an active role in what it calls the Baloch “national liberation struggle.” Casualty figures could not be independently verified.
Separately, the Baloch Republican Army (BRA) claimed a rocket and heavy weapons attack on a gas company site in Dera Bugti, alleging casualties among employees and security personnel. The Baloch Republican Guards (BRG) said its fighters briefly took over police stations and government buildings in two towns before withdrawing.
The competing accounts highlight a cycle of violence that has repeatedly drawn in civilians. In recent months, attacks on police convoys, energy projects and remote outposts have been followed by large scale military sweeps, house to house searches and extended gun battles. Rights groups and local residents have long complained about the human cost on both sides, even as Islamabad insists it is targeting only “foreign-sponsored” networks.
For now, neither side shows signs of stepping back. The military vows to press its counter-insurgency campaign; separatist groups, citing decades of marginalisation and resource extraction, promise more operations against state and economic targets. In Balochistan, the frontline keeps moving and the body count keeps rising.
