Security forces kill two terrorists in Washuk

Security forces on Monday eliminated two alleged operatives of an Indian-sponsored terrorist outfit in Washuk district of south-western Balochistan.

According to a statement shared on the X account of state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV), an intelligence-based operation (IBO) took place in the Palantuk area of Washuk. A brief video shared by PTV showed a double-cabin vehicle with plumes of thick smoke rising from it.

The statement claimed that the eliminated terrorists were involved in earlier Mashkhel Police Station and Customs House attacks. Mashkhel is the largest tehsil of Washuk.

During the operation, security forces also recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition. "The arms and ammunition were going to be used in terrorist attacks and targeted killing of innocent Baloch people," the statement added.

It stated that security forces will continue their operations against Fitna Al-Hindustan—an umbrella term used to refer to separatist organisations in Balochistan—until the complete elimination of terrorists."

Washuk is an extremely sparsely populated district of the restive province with a total population of around 300,000, according to the 2023 census

On August 21, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported that security forces in coordination with police, killed 49 terrorists in a series of "high-tempo" IBOs across Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

In Balochistan, the forces conducted operations in Mastung, Mach, Khuzdar and the Panjgur districts, killing 37 terrorists while seizing and destroying a "significant quantity" of weapons, explosive drums and remote-detonation equipment.

In a targeted operation conducted a week ago in the Killi Soran area of Panjgur, security forces killed five terrorists.