Military Says Balochistan Security Situation Better Than Perceived

ISLAMABAD: Military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that a deliberate attempt was being made to create a perception that the security situation in Balochistan was deteriorating.

He was addressing a press conference focused on the overall security situation in the country, particularly Balochistan.

At the outset of the briefing, the military’s spokesperson said 40,348 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) had been conducted across the country so far this year, adding that the figure included operations carried out by all security forces, including police, civil armed forces, intelligence agencies and the armed forces.

Of these operations, most were conducted in Balochistan, with the number exceeding 31,000, he said.

He said that 3,145 terrorism incidents had taken place in the country in 2026, of which 1,971 were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,148 from Balochistan and 26 from other parts of the country.

During this period, 2,084 individuals described as confirmed terrorists were killed. “This comes to an average of 10 terrorists being killed every day, which is the highest ratio ever,” he added.

Meanwhile, security forces were undertaking nearly 200 intelligence-based operations per day. “So these IBOs are going on every hour,” he said.

A total of 819 Pakistanis had been killed in incidents of terrorism during the year, which amounted to around four deaths per day. These included 303 army personnel, 194 police and civil armed forces personnel and 322 civilians.

Twenty-eight suicide bombing incidents had taken place this year, “the majority of which were carried out by Afghan nationals […] and people associated with their security forces”.

Comparing the number of terrorists killed last year with those killed in 2026, he said 2,597 terrorists were killed in 2025 compared with 2,084 this year so far.

Pointing out that five months remained before the end of 2026, he said, “The way the kinetic prong of counter-terrorism is maturing, responding and delivering, that is before you.”

He further elaborated that the number of Pakistani casualties in comparison with slain terrorists had been higher in previous years, but the tide started turning in 2024. In 2025, “for each martyr we were taking out minimum two [terrorists], and this year, we are taking out minimum 2.5 [terrorists],” he said.

He added that a valid question was why terrorism incidents were rising despite the increase in counter-terrorism operations.

“Because once returns from other elements of their strategy begin diminishing, they focus more here. And you saw when their direct strategy during Marka-i-Haq failed, they started investing a lot more here,” he explained.

The DG ISPR added that this also had to do with the “agenda of the terrorist-supporting Taliban regime” and the clarity that the state of Pakistan had developed on the issue.

“These terrorists and their sponsors have come to understand that there is no space for appeasement or any talks with them […] They know that the state is telling them very clearly that either you submit to the state’s will in accordance with law and the Constitution, otherwise we are here and fighting,” he said.