Senior Pakistani officials on Sunday claimed that state forces conducted 78,000 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across Balochistan over the past year as part of what they described as a counter-terrorism campaign.
The claims were made during a press conference at the office of the Inspector General of Police in Quetta, addressed by Additional Chief Secretary for Home Hamza Shafqat and Deputy Inspector General of the Balochistan Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Aitzaz Ahmed Goraya.
According to the officials, 707 armed fighters were killed during these operations. They said 202 military personnel and 280 civilians were also killed in attacks carried out by armed groups over the same period.
Mr Shafqat and Mr Goraya said that what they described as “improved strategies” adopted by the state forces and other law enforcement agencies had led to a reduction in militant attacks in the region.
The officials also described the designation of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) as a “terrorist organization” by the United States as a major success, saying the move had strengthened Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts.
“The designation of the Baloch Liberation Army and the Majeed Brigade as terrorist organizations is our major success,” Mr Shafqat said, adding that the government would pursue action through Interpol against individuals “operating against Pakistan from abroad”.
During the briefing, DIG CTD Goraya referred to the killing of a station house officer in Kharan in October, claiming that three alleged militants were arrested in subsequent operations.
He said the group had intended to abduct the officer for “propaganda purposes” but killed him after he resisted, adding that efforts were under way to arrest seven other alleged associates.
Scale of operations and scope of the conflict
The claim that 78,000 intelligence-based operations were conducted in a single year would amount to more than 200 operations a day, pointing to an almost continuous military campaign across Balochistan.
The scale contrasts with the state’s own public characterisation of the Baloch insurgency. Addressing an Overseas Pakistanis Convention in Islamabad in April, army chief General Asim Munir said state forces were facing “around 1,500 terrorists belonging to the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and Baloch Republican Army (BRA)”.
Observers say the volume and geographic spread of the operations suggest a conflict that is far more widespread on the ground than official narratives often indicate, with security operations extending across much of the region rather than being confined to limited pockets of armed fighters.