Pakistan army says it killed 216 fighters in weeklong Balochistan campaign

The military says operations that began on January 29 degraded leadership and operational capabilities of ‘terrorist’ networks.

Pakistan’s military has concluded a weeklong security operation in the restive southwestern Balochistan province, claiming the deaths of 216 fighters in targeted offensives.

A military statement on Thursday said following the province-wide attacks by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), carried out to “destabilise the peace of Balochistan”, security forces launched Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1 (countering chaos) to “dismantle terrorist sleeper cells through sustained combing and sanitisation operations” through “meticulous planning” and “actionable intelligence”.

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The operation commenced on January 29 in response to a series of coordinated attacks by the BLA, which said it stormed schools, banks, markets and military installations across the region in one of its largest operations to date.

The military claimed that 216 fighters were killed during the operations, “significantly degrading the leadership, command-and-control structures and operational capabilities of terrorist networks”.

A “substantial cache of foreign-origin weapons, ammunition, explosives and equipment” was also recovered, the statement added. It further claimed that a preliminary analysis shows the fighters benefitted from “systematic external facilitation and logistical support”.

The military added that during the operations, 36 civilians, including women and children, and 22 security and law enforcement personnel lost their lives.

Pakistan has dealt with a separatist movement in Balochistan for decades. Violence has surged in recent years, with armed groups stating they are resisting exploitation in the resource-rich province. The area is rich in coal, gold, copper, and gas, which generates revenue for the federal government.

The region’s armed groups regularly target security forces and have also attacked civilians, including Chinese nationals working on regional projects, according to the Pakistani government.

In 2025, separatists attacked a train with hundreds of passengers on board, leading to a two-day siege in which dozens were killed.

“Over the past 12 months, security forces in Balochistan have sent more than 700 terrorists to hell, with around 70 terrorists eliminated in just the last two days alone,” Balochistan’s Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti told reporters on Sunday. “These attacks cannot weaken our resolve against terrorism.”

He accused neighbours India and Afghanistan of backing the fighters, allegations which New Delhi and Kabul deny.