Pakistan says Balochistan attacks killed 42 as forces target fighters

Pakistan’s military said attacks in Balochistan have killed 42 people since Monday, including police officers, soldiers and civilians. The toll points to another serious flare-up in a province where separatist groups and the Pakistan Taliban have long targeted security forces and infrastructure.

Military spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a televised news conference on Wednesday that rebel fighters killed 18 police officers and 11 soldiers in separate attacks. He said four civilians were also among the dead.

Chaudhry said Pakistani security forces killed 54 fighters in several operations. He also claimed “many Afghans” were involved in the attacks and warned that Pakistan would pursue those responsible, along with people accused of supporting or sheltering them.

Police killed after dam post attack

The police deaths followed an assault on Monday in Ziarat district, according to the military account. Dozens of fighters attacked a post guarding the Mangi dam project, and 18 police officers were abducted and later killed, Chaudhry said.

Nine other officers were killed during the same attack, according to the report. On Wednesday, fighters ambushed a vehicle travelling on a highway in Balochistan and killed 11 soldiers, Chaudhry said.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area and its least populated. It borders Afghanistan and Iran and has seen years of violence tied to separatist movements, militant groups and disputes over the region’s resources.

Militant groups and regional tensions

Pakistan has faced repeated attacks in Balochistan from groups including the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistan Taliban or TTP, and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army. The TTP is allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban, while the BLA has fought the Pakistani state in the mineral-rich province.

Armed groups in Balochistan have targeted security personnel, foreign-backed projects and infrastructure, according to Pakistani authorities. At least five separatist uprisings have taken place in the province since Pakistan became independent in 1947.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of allowing separatist groups to use Afghan territory as a base for operations against Pakistan. Kabul has denied that allegation.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s military said it intercepted four drones launched by the Afghan Taliban into Balochistan. That incident followed a series of cross-border strikes that have continued since October 2025, according to Pakistani accounts.

In late June, Pakistani security forces said they killed 29 fighters along the Afghan border after an attack on a paramilitary compound in Karachi that the Pakistan Taliban claimed. Afghanistan’s Taliban government disputed Pakistan’s account of the border operation, saying those killed were civilians and that at least 36 civilians died and 163 others were wounded.

Pakistan has also accused India of backing the Balochistan Liberation Army, without presenting evidence. India has denied supporting rebel groups in Pakistan.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.