Pakistan says 49 terrorists killed as Mastung blast deepens Balochistan crisis

Pakistan's security forces said they killed 49 terrorists in operations across Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The announcement came as a deadly Mastung blast and shootings underscored Balochistan's worsening security crisis.

In Short

• The army conducted ten intelligence-led raids across four Balochistan districts
• Weapons, explosive drums and remote detonation equipment were seized and destroyed
• Operations in KP covered Bannu, North Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber districts

Pakistan's Army on Friday said security forces had killed 49 terrorists in separate intelligence-based operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The military said 37 terrorists were killed in 10 operations in Balochistan over the past few days, while 12 others were killed in separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a separate incident in Balochistan on Friday, at least six people were killed and two were injured in an explosion at a farm in Mastung district, police said. Soon after the blast, two people were shot dead in the same town by unidentified gunmen on motorcycles.

Pakistan Army's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the 37 terrorists in Balochistan were killed in intelligence-based operations in Mastung, Mach, Khuzdar and Panjgur districts this week. "A significant quantity of weapons, explosive drums and remote detonation equipment were seized and destroyed," the ISPR said. It did not give an exact timeframe for the operations in those areas, but said the terrorists were killed in the last few days.

The Army said 12 terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij were also killed in separate operations in Bannu, North Waziristan, Orakzai and Khyber districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khawarij is a term used by the state for banned organisations. The ISPR said that under the government's National Action Plan, security forces and law enforcement agencies would eliminate terrorism from the country.

Police said three farm workers were killed on the spot in the explosion at a farm in Kadh Kocha town of Mastung district, while three others died later in hospital. Two injured people are being treated at a nearby hospital, a police official said. In another incident shortly after the explosion, two people were gunned down in Kadh Kocha by unidentified attackers riding motorcycles.

Pakistan has seen a rise in terror activity, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, in recent years. A monthly report issued on July 31 by the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said the security situation worsened most sharply in Balochistan last month. According to the report, the overall death toll in the province rose by 241 per cent, from 109 in June to 372 in July, while 62 security personnel were killed in different incidents and operations in July, compared with six in June. Security forces, including the military, have been carrying out clean-up operations in Balochistan since last month after a series of attacks by insurgent groups, including one in Ziarat on July 6 in which 27 policemen were killed.

To sum up, Pakistan's military said 49 terrorists were killed in separate operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, even as Balochistan also saw a deadly farm explosion and a shooting in Mastung amid a worsening security situation in the province.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends