ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces have killed 22 more militants in overnight counteroffensive operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, state media reported on Monday, taking the total number of insurgents killed over the past three days to 177 following a wave of coordinated separatist attacks.

Militants launched simultaneous assaults across multiple districts in Balochistan on Friday and Saturday, targeting security installations and government facilities. The attacks marked one of the deadliest escalations in recent years in the resource-rich but restive province, with at least 31 civilians and 17 members of law enforcement agencies killed.

The banned separatist group, the Baloch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had launched a coordinated operation dubbed Herof, or “black storm,” targeting security forces across the province. The assault included pre-dawn strikes on high-security installations in the cities of Quetta, Gwadar, Dalbandin, Pasni, Nushki, Kalat, Turbat and Mastung.

On Monday, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said security forces carried out the latest “sanitization operations” against what it described as “Fitna-al-Hindustan” in Balochistan late Sunday night. Pakistan’s military and civilian authorities use the term to describe separatist militants in the province whom Islamabad alleges are supported by India, a charge New Delhi denies.

“According to security sources, 22 more terrorists were killed last night during pursuit operations,” Radio Pakistan said. “At least 177 terrorists have been eliminated in the operations conducted over the last three days.”

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, has long been gripped by a separatist insurgency that has intensified in recent years. Militants frequently target security forces, government officials, infrastructure projects, foreigners and non-local workers.

Balochistan is strategically significant for Pakistan due to its vast reserves of minerals and hydrocarbons and its role as a transit hub for the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The province is home to the deep-sea Gwadar Port on the Arabian Sea, which Islamabad views as critical to regional trade and energy routes linking China, Central Asia and the Middle East. 

Separatist groups accuse the central government of exploiting the province’s natural resources while neglecting local communities. Islamabad rejects the allegations, saying it is investing in development and security to stabilize the province.