Pakistan’s security forces have carried out raids in the country’s southwest, killing at least 41 armed fighters, whom the country’s military linked to regional rival and neighbour India.
The military said in a statement on Friday that the deadly encounters took place in the province of Balochistan, which shares a long border with Afghanistan and has long been a base for separatist groups seeking independence from Pakistan’s central government in Islamabad.
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Despite the incident’s proximity to the border with Afghanistan, the military statement claimed – without providing evidence – that the deadly encounters involved fighters backed by India.
In the first raid, at least 30 fighters were killed on the outskirts of Balochistan’s Harnai district, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper quoted the military as saying.
The fighters belonged to Fitna-al-Khawarij (a term the government uses to refer to the banned Pakistan Taliban (TTP), which is allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban), the army officials said.
In a separate operation in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, “11 India-sponsored terrorists” belonging to the Fitna-al-Hindustan were killed, the military’s media wing Inter-Services Public Relations said.
The military added that ammunition as well as money allegedly looted during a bank robbery in Panjgur in December were recovered from the fighters killed in the second raid.
Both raids took place on Thursday. None of the soldiers involved was killed.
India has yet to comment on the allegations.
The Pakistani military added that “sanitisation operations” were ongoing in both districts to eliminate any remaining fighters.
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Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said the operation “reflects the state’s unwavering resolve,” according to Pakistan’s Express Tribune.
The newspaper also quoted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif as saying that “the entire nation stands with the armed forces in this ongoing fight against terrorism”.
Pakistan has seen a surge in violence in recent months, largely blamed on Baloch separatist groups such as the banned Balochistan Liberation Army and the TTP.
In January, Pakistan’s security forces killed 12 armed fighters accused of planning to carry out a hostage attack in Balochistan’s Kharan district.
The military also claimed that the fighters were backed by India in that incident.
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