Security forces killed at least 58 terrorists on Saturday as skirmishes continued in Balochistan after coordinated attacks at 12 locations were foiled, according to security sources.

During the clashes with the terrorists, 10 personnel of the security forces and the police were martyred, said security sources.

“Fitna al Hindustan carried out attacks at 12 locations across Balochistan” said the sources, adding that all attacks were foiled due to timely and effective action.

The state has designated Balochistan-based terrorist groups as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.

The terrorists also killed five members of a Baloch labourer’s family in Gwadar, including a woman and three children, the sources added.

State-run Radio Pakistan, also citing security sources, said the “security forces’ pursuit and engagement with the terrorists at various locations are still ongoing”.

“As a result of these operations, there are reports of further terrorist casualties and damages.”

In a post on X, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti highlighted that security forces had killed 70 terrorists at various locations across the province during the past two days.

“In the morning, in an attempt to shore up their declining morale, Fitna-al-Hindustan terrorists attempted to carry out attacks at multiple locations, which the courageous police of Balochistan and brave personnel of the FC (Frontier Corps) are jointly thwarting and have killed 37 more terrorists so far.”

“These attacks cannot undermine our resolve against terrorism; we will continue to pursue them until the last terrorist,” CM Bugti added.

According to a Dawn correspondent, while mobile phone services were working, data services were suspended in Quetta, Sibi and Chaman regions in the wake of the attacks.

‘Desperate move’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the attack as “a desperate move” by the terrorists while security forces were about to neutralise them.

“This was a desperate move by the terrorists. Our security forces are close to defeating the fighters of Fitna al Hindustan and Fitna Alkhawarij,” he said in an interview with Geo News.

He said the security forces were alert at all locations and were not taken by surprise.

“Our security personnel fought bravely. They were alert at all sites and fully prepared,” he said.

Sharing casualty figures, he added, “Ten police and security personnel were martyred, while so far 58 terrorists have been killed.”

“This is a success as without any major loss, 58 terrorists were sent to hell,” he added.

Expressing deep sorrow, he said that BLA terrorists had martyred labourers belonging to families from Khuzdar and Gwadar.

Briefing on the security operation, he said, “Security forces are monitoring the situation, while aerial surveillance is ongoing.”

He reiterated that the attack was thwarted with full force.

The information minister further said that the prime minister was aware of the situation and was in contact. “The prime minister condemned the attack and reaffirmed that we will not rest until the last terrorist is eliminated from the country,” he said.

“It is the resolve of the state of Pakistan that it will not rest until terrorism is eliminated from the country,” he added.

He continued, “We are fully focused. The terrorists failed due to the unity of the Pakistani nation, and the entire nation stands behind the security forces.”

Bugti visits Quetta attack site

CM Bugti also visited the site of a bomb blast in Quetta to review the security situation, a statement from the CM House said.

Balochistan Inspector General (IG) Muhammad Tahir provided a detailed briefing on the incident to the chief minister, who also met security and police personnel.

“The timely response against terrorist elements is commendable,” Bugti was quoted as saying, hailing the effective actions taken by the police and the CTD.

“Anti-state elements will not be forgiven under any circumstances. There will be no compromise on peace in Balochistan,” the chief minister asserted.

Earlier in the day, provincial government official Shahid Rind said police and the FC had foiled attempted terrorist attacks at a “few places across Balochistan”.

Rind, the special aide to CM for political and media affairs, noted on X that the attacks came after over 70 terrorists had been killed over the past two days by security forces at different locations across the province.

Emergency imposed in hospitals

An emergency was imposed in all government hospitals across the province on the directives of Health Minister Bakht Muhammad Kakar and Health Secretary Mujeebur Rehman.

Kakar was supervising the provision of medical treatment to those “injured in the Quetta firing”, a statement from the provincial health department said.

The health minister directed Quetta Trauma Centre Managing Director Dr Arbab Kamran and Quetta Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Abdul Hadi Kakar to ensure the “immediate” provision of medical facilities.

According to the statement, the operating theatres of the Quetta Trauma Centre and Civil Hospital have been put on alert, and additional doctors have been deployed.

‘IED, explosives neutralised in Nasirabad’

Separately, police said suspected explosive materials were found on a railway track in Balochistan’s Nasirabad district.

“An anti-tank mine and explosive material were found on the railway line near Rabi Pul,” said a statement by Nasirabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Asadullah Nasir.

“A suspected IED (improvised explosive device) was neutralised as the police, FC and Special Branch took timely action,” it added.

The recovered items included half a kilogramme of explosive material, petrol and an iron rod, according to SSP Nasir. The items were handed over to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) for further investigation.

Railway tracks are a frequent target of terrorists, with the Jaffar Express coming under attack several times over the past year.

Most recently, on Monday night, a blast on the railway track linking Sindh to Balochistan derailed four bogies of the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express train coming from Peshawar and damaged the track.

The Jaffar Express had also escaped attacks in Nasirabad in October and November last year. Similar attempts also occurred during the two months in Kachhi and Sindh’s Shikarpur district.

Resolve to fight terror till its ‘complete eradication’

President Asif Ali Zardari commended the army and the LEAs’ professional expertise for foiling “infiltration attempts by Fitna-al-Hindustan terrorists at multiple locations”.

In a statement, he also paid tribute to the “security personnel and innocent civilians who embraced martyrdom during the actions”, and prayed for their high ranks.

“Our commitment is not to make any compromise on Balochistan’s peace, civilians’ protection, and national unity,” Zardari affirmed.

He asserted that the state will continue its operations against “enemy elements operating under external backing and their facilitators with full force and unity”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for “foiling coordinated attacks” in 12 locations.

“I, along with the entire nation, am proud of our martyrs,” the premier said in a statement.

“We will continue the war against terrorism until its complete eradication from the country,” he vowed.

Balochistan Planning Minister Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi strongly condemned the “damage to public properties and terrorising citizens by a handful of terrorists”.

“Balochistan will not be held hostage by these perpetrators of violence. With public support, LEAs (law enforcement agencies) have foiled terrorist designs,” he said on X.

Buledi further said that Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti “cut short his Islamabad engagements, including a meeting with the World Bank President & returned to Quetta immediately to resume official work at the CM House”.

Rise in terrorism

The proscribed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has carried out frequent attacks in Balochistan, specifically targeting security forces and law enforcement agencies.

In August 2025, the United States designated the BLA and its Majeed Brigade squad as foreign terrorist organisations.

Earlier this week, CTD said six proclaimed offenders affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were killed during an operation in Pishin.

On January 5, an IED attack in Panjgur killed one person and injured 16 others.

Despite record militant deaths, Pakistan saw a sharp escalation in militant violence in 2025, with terrorist attacks rising by 34 per cent and terrorism-related fatalities increasing by 21pc year-on-year, according to data released by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies.

As many as 699 terrorist attacks were recorded countrywide during the year.

In early December, security forces carried out a two-day operation against militants who attacked the brigade headquarters of Frontier Corps in Chagai district’s Nokundi area.

The same day the FC headquarters was targeted as a suicide bomber detonated himself at its main gate, armed terrorists also launched an attack on an FC checkpost in Panjgur district’s Gurmakan area.

On November 24, three personnel were martyred and 12 sustained injuries in a suicide attack on the FC headquarters in Peshawar.

(In association with Asia News Network)