# Pakistan says 145 militants killed in 40-hour Balochistan operation after deadly attacks
*Event date: 2026-02-01*
Pakistani police and military forces said they killed 145 members of what officials described as “Indian-backed terrorists” during counterterrorism operations in Balochistan over 40 hours, AP reported. The announcement came a day after coordinated suicide and gun attacks killed 33 people, mostly civilians, across the restive southwestern province. According to the report, the government said the raids began early Saturday at multiple locations and were part of a rapid response to the attacks.
The casualty breakdown is severe even before the anti-insurgent operation is counted. AP said authorities reported 18 civilians dead, including five women and three children, and 15 security personnel killed in the attacks and response. Provincial chief minister Sarfraz Bugti said the total number of militants killed was the highest in decades and told reporters that the bodies of the 145 killed were in government custody. He also said some of the dead were Afghan nationals.
Bugti said the assailants had tried to take hostages but failed to reach the city center. He appeared with senior government official Hamza Shafqat and praised the military, police and paramilitary forces for repelling the assaults. The province has long been a difficult security environment, but the scale of the latest fighting turned a series of attacks into a wider operation that officials presented as a decisive counterblow.
The government’s political framing was as important as the battlefield result. Bugti repeatedly accused India and Afghanistan of backing the militants and said leaders of the Baloch Liberation Army were operating from Afghan territory. Both Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegations. AP noted that the BLA claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, and it also pointed out that the U.S. State Department designated the group and its armed wing as a foreign terrorist organization in September 2025.
The conflict is unfolding in a province that Pakistan wants to market as an investment destination because of its mineral wealth. AP said a U.S. metals company signed a $500 million agreement with Pakistan in September 2025, one month after the designation. That makes the violence more than a local security story: it is a test of whether the state can contain insurgency while trying to lure in foreign capital. The report does not settle the political claims, but it does show how quickly Balochistan can swing from attack to mass retaliatory operation.
