ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed 48 militants across Balochistan over the past 48 to 72 hours, including 36 in operations across four districts in the latest 12 to 24 hours, the military said on Friday, as it intensified a counterterrorism campaign in the southwestern province.

The latest operations were carried out in Mastung, Quetta, Kalat and Sibi against ethnic Baloch separatists and Pakistani Taliban militants, according to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

“In [the] last forty-eight [to] seventy-two hours, 48 ... terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan & Fitna al Khwarij have been neutralized across Balochistan,” ISPR said in a statement.

Pakistan refers to ethnic Baloch separatists and the Pakistani Taliban under the umbrella terms Fitna Al Hindustan and Fitna Al Khwarij respectively, and accuses India of backing both. New Delhi denies supporting militancy in Pakistan.

ISPR said six militants were killed in Mastung after security forces intercepted their movement and engaged them in a firefight, while a cache of ammunition and improvised explosive devices was destroyed.

In the Shaban area of Quetta district, troops identified four militant hideouts and killed 26 militants in an exchange of fire, while two others were killed during a raid on a hideout in Kalat, according to the statement.

In Bhag in Sibi district, security forces, assisted by local residents, foiled an attempt to raid a police station and killed two militants, ISPR said.

The military did not provide details of the remaining 12 militants included in the wider 48-to-72-hour toll.

The operations follow a sustained escalation of violence in the province. July was the deadliest month of 2026, with at least 606 deaths nationwide in militant attacks and security operations, according to the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.

Balochistan saw the sharpest deterioration, with the overall toll rising 241 percent between June and July, from 109 to 372.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, faces a decades-old separatist insurgency led by groups including the Baloch Liberation Army and Baloch Liberation Front. Separatists accuse the federal government of exploiting the province’s gas and mineral resources while leaving its population impoverished.

The government rejects accusations that Balochistan has been deliberately deprived, pointing to federal development spending, infrastructure projects and investment under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. It says separatist groups have themselves impeded development by attacking workers and infrastructure.