ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 12 “Indian-sponsored terrorists” in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military’s media wing said on Sunday, vowing to purge “terrorism” from the country.

The security operation was carried out in Balochistan’s Kalat district on Dec. 6, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement. It said the militants belonged to Indian proxy “Fitna al Hindustan.”

The military uses this term to describe ethnic Baloch militant groups who demand independence from Pakistan. Islamabad accuses New Delhi of arming and funding these separatist groups, charges India has always denied. 

“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” the ISPR said. 

The military said that it was carrying out sanitization operations in the area to eliminate other “terrorists,” vowing it will continue with its relentless counter-terror campaign to purge militancy. 

The development took place a day after the Pakistan military said it had gunned down 14 militants in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces. 

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by since yet its most backward by almost all social and economic indicators, has suffered from a bloody separatist insurgency for decades. 

The most ethnic Baloch militant group that has mounted attacks against law enforcement and civilians in the area is the Balochistan Liberation Army.

These militant outfits accuse the military and federal government of denying the local Baloch population a share in the province’s mineral wealth, charges Islamabad denies.