Security forces killed nine militants in two intelligence-based operations in Balochistan's Kachhi and Wadh districts, Pakistan's military media wing said on Wednesday, 28 October. The operations were conducted on 26 October following reports of the presence of militants belonging to what the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) described as the Indian proxy group Fitna al-Hindustan. All casualty and affiliation details in this article come from the military's statement as reported; there is no independent confirmation, and the identities of those killed were not given.

Two operations, nine killed

In the first operation, in Kachhi district, security forces raided a militant hideout. An exchange of fire followed, killing seven militants, and weapons and ammunition were recovered from the site. In a separate operation in Wadh district, troops tracked and intercepted moving militants; two more were killed in the ensuing gunfight, with weapons and ammunition also seized there.

Clearance operations under way

The ISPR said sanitisation, or clearance, operations were under way in both areas to eliminate any other militants found there. It added that the counterterrorism campaign under the Azm-e-Istehkam vision, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace until what it called foreign-sponsored terrorism was eliminated from the country.

A province under pressure

The announcement comes amid a sharp rise in militant violence in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. September 2026 was the country's highest month for militant attacks in 12 years, per the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, with Balochistan accounting for well over half of the nationwide total. Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by militant groups to plan attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation the Afghan Taliban authorities dispute.

Sources: Centreline (ISPR statement), 365 News.