ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s powerful military said it supported the country’s elected government and the constitution, as tens of thousands of opposition protesters gathered in the capital demanding that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s year-old government quits by Sunday.
“We believe in the law and the constitution and our support is with the democratically elected government, not with any party,” military spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor said in comments to a television news channel late on Friday.
Earlier on Friday, the opposition had demanded that cricket star-turned-politician Khan and his administration resign within two days, raising the stakes in a protest campaign that the government has denounced as a threat to democracy.
The opposition says Khan’s government is illegitimate and is being propped up by the military, which has ruled Pakistan for about half of its history and sets security and foreign policy.
The military denies meddling in politics and Khan has dismissed the calls to step down.
The leader of the protest, religious party chief Fazl-ur-Rehman, told a rally of tens of thousands of supporters that he did not want a “collision with institutions,” a thinly veiled reference to the military, and called on them to be impartial.
Ghafoor said Rehman should know the military was impartial and it should not be dragged into politics.
Rehman, leader of the conservative Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl party, is a veteran politician who can mobilize significant support in religious schools across the country.
He was joined at the Friday rally, which police estimated was attended by 35,000 people, by leaders of the two main opposition parties.
Protesters were camped out at the rally site on Saturday, cooking food and resting.
Rehman had earlier warned of chaos if the government did not step down, but on Friday he told the crowd they would decide what action to take if their two-day sit-in at the rally site failed.
Security is tight in Islamabad with the government and diplomatic sector — just a few kilometers from the rally — sealed off, with shipping containers used to block roads.
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday urged the government to handle the protest peacefully.
The government, struggling to get the economy on track, has denounced the protests as a threat to the constitution and to democracy and has said it will not be allowed to paralyze the capital.
Pakistan army says supports elected government amid major protest
Pakistan army says supports elected government amid major protest
- Thousands of demonstrators led by JUIF leader have camped in Islamabad demanding PM's resignation
- Opposition says Khan's government is illegitimate and is being propped up by the military
Pakistan says 41 suspected militants killed in operations in restive Balochistan province
- Military says intelligence-based raids carried out in Harnai and Panjgur districts
- Islamabad repeats claim militants backed by New Delhi, an allegation India denies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 41 suspected militants in two separate intelligence-based operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, the military said on Thursday, alleging the fighters were linked to India.
The operations were carried out in the districts of Harnai and Panjgur in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least developed province and home to a long running separatist insurgency that frequently targets security personnel, government infrastructure and non-local residents.
“On 29 January 2026, 41 terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Khwarij and Fitna al Hindustan, were killed in two separate operations in Balochistan,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement.
According to the ISPR, 30 militants were killed in Harnai district following a “heavy exchange of fire,” during which security forces also destroyed a cache of recovered weapons and explosives.
In a separate intelligence-based operation in Panjgur district, the military said 11 additional suspected militants were killed after security forces raided a hideout.
“Besides weapons and ammunition, looted money from bank robbery in Panjgur on 15 December 2025 were also recovered from the killed terrorists,” the statement said.
“The terrorists were involved in numerous terrorist activities in the past.”
Pakistan’s military and government frequently use the terms “Fitna al Khwarij” and “Fitna al Hindustan” to describe militant groups it associates with the Pakistani Taliban and alleged Indian support.
The ISPR said follow-up “sanitization operations” were underway to eliminate any remaining militants in the area, describing them as “Indian-sponsored terrorists.”
Islamabad has repeatedly accused India of backing separatist groups in Balochistan to destabilize Pakistan, an allegation New Delhi denies.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s counterterrorism police said they killed five militants planning attacks on security forces and an attempt to block the Quetta–Sibi highway, a key transport route. On Jan. 25, the military also reported killing three militants, including a local commander, in an intelligence-based operation in Panjgur.
Balochistan is strategically important due to its vast mineral resources and its role as a transit corridor for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar infrastructure initiative linking Pakistan with China.
Separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province’s natural resources without fair local benefit, a claim the government rejects.
