11 India-backed terrorists killed in KP, Balochistan operations: security sources

• Weapons, ammunition recovered from killed militants: sources.
• Militants opened fire on checkpost in Mashkel area: sources.
• Forces responded promptly, killing fleeing militants: sources.

Security forces killed 11 India-backed terrorists in separate operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, security sources said on Saturday.

The operations were carried out in KP's South Waziristan and the Gorindar-Mashkel area in Balochistan under ongoing operations against militants, security sources said.

In South Waziristan, security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation targeting hideouts of Fitna al-Khawarij, according to the sources.

Five militants were killed during the operation, while their hideouts were targeted and destroyed, the sources said.

A large cache of weapons and ammunition was also recovered from the militants killed during the operation, according to security sources.

Separately, security forces conducted an operation against Fitna al-Hindustan terrorists in the Gorinder-Mashkel area of Balochistan under Operation Radd-ul-Fitna 3.

According to security sources, militants opened fire on a checkpost in the area and attempted to flee after the attack.

Security forces responded promptly and killed six militants who were attempting to escape, the sources said.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in cross-border terrorist incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Pakistan recorded its highest monthly number of militant attacks in 12 years during September 2026.

According to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based independent think tank monitoring anti-state violence in the region, 225 militant attacks were recorded across the country in September, compared with 199 in August — an increase of 13%. Militant attacks increased for the third consecutive month.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by militant organisations to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

Pakistan maintains that the Afghan Taliban authorities have failed to take effective action against groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, a position Kabul has disputed.

Despite multiple rounds of talks, Islamabad and Kabul have yet to resolve their differences, with the issue of militant groups operating from Afghan soil remaining a major point of contention between the two sides.