Pakistan’s military said on Sunday that three suspected militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, a day after heavy clashes were reported in the same region between Pakistani forces and a Baloch armed group.
Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said troops conducted the operation on 25 January in the Tasp area following intelligence about the presence of armed men.
The statement said that during the operation, troops engaged the suspected location and, after what it described as an “intense exchange of fire,” three armed men were killed.
One of the dead was identified as Farooq alias Soro, whom the ISPR described as a local commander. Weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the site, it added.
ISPR said sanitisation operations were under way to trace any additional suspects and that counterterrorism efforts would continue under the vision of “Azm-e-Istehkam”.
Baloch armed groups active in the area had not issued any statement confirming or denying the ISPR claim at the time of publication.
The ISPR statement comes a day after reports of heavy troop movement across several parts of Panjgur, including Tasp, Pardan, Soorap and Sagar, where local sources said intense exchanges of fire took place.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) later said its fighters had engaged Pakistani forces in Soorap on Saturday, claiming to have killed 12 soldiers and injured six others.
The military did not address the BLA claim in its statement.