Forces kill four terrorists in Kalat IBO

Weapons recovered from slain members of Fitna-al-Hindustan according to ISPR

Security forces killed four terrorists in an intelligence-based operation in the Kalat district of Balochistan.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation, conducted on the night of November 1, targeted members of Fitna al Hindustan, a group described as an Indian proxy.

Troops reportedly engaged the terrorists' hideout, resulting in four deaths. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the site.

The ISPR said the terrorists had been involved in “numerous terrorist activities” and that follow-up sanitisation operations are underway in the area.

Kalat sits in central Balochistan along the mountainous belt south of Quetta, intersecting key regional routes including the N-25 highway that links the provincial capital with Karachi and Gwadar. The town lies about 140–160 kilometres south of Quetta by road and occupies an elevated position (approximately 2,000 metres above sea level). 

The district’s terrain is mountainous and semi‑arid, with narrow valleys and plateaux that limit road access and make rapid ground movement difficult.The rugged terrain has long complicated security operations and enabled insurgent groups to maintain movement corridors in the area.

The rugged, sparsely populated terrain has historically provided hideouts. It complicates both civilian travel and security operations, enabling insurgent groups to maintain movement corridors in the area.

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Security forces have conducted multiple intelligence-based operations in Kalat and neighbouring districts this year amid a sustained militant threat. In early 2025, security forces intensified counterterrorism operations across central Balochistan, including Khuzdar and Awaran districts adjoining Kalat following a rise in militant activity targeting infrastructure and security patrols. According to official briefings, several operations during the first quarter of the year led to arrests and recoveries of arms linked to banned outfits operating in the region

In September 2024, an operation in the Mangochar area resulted in the killing of at least two militants affiliated with Baloch separatist outfits, according to security officials. Earlier in June, Frontier Corps personnel seized weapons and explosives during a raid on suspected hideouts linked to banned groups operating along the strategic N-25 highway corridor.

Militant attacks have also persisted in the region. In August 2024, a roadside IED blast targeted a security convoy travelling between Kalat and Khuzdar, injuring several personnel. Police and CTD officials have attributed recent ambushes on FC checkpoints in the district to Baloch insurgent factions seeking to disrupt ongoing stabilisation efforts. Data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) indicates a rise in targeted assaults on security forces in Balochistan since mid-2023. 

The ISPR said a sanitisation operation was underway to eliminate any remaining Indian-sponsored terrorists in the area. “Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement agencies, under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam as approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, will continue their relentless counter-terrorism campaign to eradicate the menace of foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country,” the statement added.

On Monday, Security forces killed three terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij in two separate operations in North Waziristan and Tank districts, as five police personnel were injured the same day in an armed attack on the North Waziristan district police officer's (DPO) convoy near Bannu, officials said.

The incidents come amid the continuing terror threat in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's border belt, where cross-border infiltration attempts and targeted assaults on security personnel have intensified in recent months.

The DPO narrowly escaped the attack, which occurred amid heightened security operations across K-P.