What happened
Security forces killed 10 militants and detained two female suicide bombers along with a man accused of facilitating them during operations in two districts of Balochistan over 48 hours, the military’s media wing said on Wednesday, 22 July 2026.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said seven militants were killed in Surab district and three in Mastung district, and that the two women and the facilitator were apprehended in Mastung, Independent Pakistan reported.
According to the ISPR, the three detained in Mastung belonged to the network it calls Fitna al-Hindustan — the label the state uses for Balochistan-based armed groups it accuses of acting on India’s behalf. The military uses a separate term, Fitna al-Khawarij, for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Troops recovered weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices during the raids, the statement said, without giving further details of how the operations were carried out or naming those killed or detained.
“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other India-sponsored terrorist found in the area,” the ISPR said, adding that the campaign would continue “at full pace” under the government’s Azm-i-Istehkam counter-terrorism strategy.
The Operation Shaban context
The latest raids fall under Operation Shaban, a joint offensive by the Pakistan Army, the Frontier Corps and Balochistan Police launched earlier in July after gunmen stormed a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat district on 6 July. The cited reporting said 27 officers were killed in that assault, one of the deadliest single attacks on security personnel in the province this year.
The Ziarat attack came within days of two others that senior military officials have since linked to the same networks — an armed raid on the outskirts of Quetta on 5 July and an ambush of an army convoy in Bela on 7 July. Addressing reporters afterwards, the ISPR’s director general, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said all three had been traced back to India and Afghanistan, an allegation that has not been independently verified here.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif followed with remarks on 9 July, telling a meeting of the Provincial Apex Committee in Quetta that Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership had reached what he called a “mutual and singular decision” to end terrorism in the province.
Reaction
President Asif Ali Zardari paid tribute to the security forces, saying operations against militant networks were essential for national peace and that the fight against terrorism “fuelled by foreign interference will continue.” Prime Minister Shehbaz praised the forces and said “terrorists are enemies of Balochistan and its people’s development and prosperity,” adding that no one would be allowed to destroy the peace of Balochistan. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also commended the personnel involved, calling intelligence-based operations indispensable for peace and stability in the province.
Why it matters
Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area but among its poorest and least populated, has for years seen a low-level insurgency fought by ethnic Baloch separatist groups alongside sporadic activity by Islamist militants. A security assessment published in early June by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, cited in the reporting, found that Balochistan recorded 71 attacks in May, up from 34 in April — a rise of 109 per cent — and accounted for 52 of the 54 abductions reported across Pakistan that month. The province remains the focus of an intensified military campaign similar to earlier operations such as the May 2026 Barkhan action.
What is still uncertain
The ISPR did not name those killed or detained or specify where in Surab and Mastung the operations took place, and casualty figures and attributions are those given by the sources cited. The outcome of the detained suspects’ cases was not disclosed.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited sources, which were reviewed on 22 July 2026.
- Independent Pakistan — "Ten militants killed, two female suicide bombers captured in Balochistan raids"22 July 2026 · The ISPR statement, the district breakdown, the Operation Shaban context and the security assessment.
- Dawn — "10 terrorists killed, 2 female suicide bombers and their facilitator apprehended in Balochistan operations: ISPR"22 July 2026 · Independent confirmation of the operation and the reaction from the president, prime minister and interior minister.
- The Express Tribune — "Security forces kill 10 terrorists, arrest two female suicide bombers in Balochistan: ISPR"22 July 2026 · Independent confirmation of the Surab and Mastung operations.
