74 militants killed in Mir Ali, Orakzai and Balochistan raids: ISPR
The army says 43 militants died in Mir Ali and Orakzai and 31 in Balochistan operations since 3 November. Where the raids happened and what the military said.
Pakistan’s security forces have killed 74 militants in a string of raids in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the military’s media wing ISPR said on Friday, 13 November. The operations were carried out in areas close to the Afghan border over roughly ten days.
Where did the operations take place?
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 43 killed. ISPR said troops carried out intelligence-based operations in Mir Ali in North Waziristan and in Orakzai district. Aaj News reported that 35 militants were killed in Mir Ali and eight in Orakzai. The military said weapons and explosives were recovered from the hideouts. The Associated Press described these as two raids over two days.
Balochistan: 31 killed. In separate operations since 3 November, troops killed 31 militants in Balochistan, the military said, the province where the banned Baloch Liberation Army has waged a long insurgency. Aaj News placed one of these operations in the Karam area near Quetta.
Nukta reported that clearance operations were still going on in the affected areas.
What did the military say?
The military said the militants were backed by India and Afghanistan. Kabul and New Delhi have rejected such accusations in the past. The figures and the claims could not be independently verified, because journalists have limited access to these areas.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the security forces for the operations.
Why it matters
North Waziristan, Orakzai and parts of Balochistan have seen repeated attacks on police, soldiers and polio teams, and relations with Kabul remain tense over militants Pakistan says shelter across the border.
Residents of these districts should follow announcements from the district administration while the clearance operations continue.
The next figures will come from ISPR’s updates as the clearance operations finish.
