WASHUK: According to War Monitor, Pakistani security forces killed five suspected Baloch separatist militants in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan's Washuk district on the night of October 12-13. The account is based on a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing.
Geo News and The Express Tribune also reported the ISPR statement, which described those killed as "Indian-sponsored terrorists" belonging to "Fitna al-Hindustan", the label the federal government applied last year to all militant groups operating in Balochistan.
ISPR said a militant hideout was busted after intelligence reports, and a cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered. Sanitisation operations were under way to find any other militants in the area.
The military said counterterrorism operations under the Azm-e-Istehkam campaign, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace. War Monitor noted that the military alleged foreign support for militancy without providing evidence in the statement, and that the identities and affiliations of those killed had not been independently established.
The Express Tribune reported that a day earlier security forces had also killed five militants and injured four in the same district. Geo News, citing data from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), said 225 militant attacks were recorded nationwide in September 2026, up 13% from 199 in August and the highest monthly figure in 12 years.