What happened
Pakistan’s military spokesman said on Wednesday 8 July 2026 that security forces had killed 54 militants and that 42 people, including 38 security personnel, had been martyred in three major attacks in Balochistan over the previous four days.
Addressing a press conference, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the attacks targeted civilians, police personnel and soldiers in Hanna Urak, Ziarat and the Bela-Winder area, and that clearance operations involving the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, police and intelligence agencies were continuing.
The three attacks
The spokesman said the first incident took place on the night between 4 and 5 July in Hanna Urak, where militants belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij attacked residents. Local people fought back and forced the attackers to flee, he said, adding that four civilians were martyred and six others injured.
The second, he said, occurred on 6 July at a police checkpost guarding Pumping Station No. 3 of the Mangi Dam in Ziarat district. Police killed 15 militants in the initial exchange while nine officers were martyred, and the militants then took police personnel hostage, he said. Security forces kept up a cordon in the Ziarat mountains from 6 July, and when the militants realised the cordon had tightened they martyred 18 more police personnel, the spokesman said. In all, 27 police personnel were martyred in that attack and 26 militants were killed, he said.
The third incident took place on Wednesday in the Bela-Winder area near the N-25 highway, where an army convoy came under attack by militants of the Baloch Liberation Army, the spokesman said. Fourteen militants were killed and one junior commissioned officer and 10 soldiers were martyred, he said. He added that forces also killed six militants in Kharan and eight in Dalbandin the same day.
The response
Lt Gen Chaudhry said the security forces would pursue “every terrorist and all their facilitators”. He accused India of backing what he called Fitna al-Hindustan and said Afghan territory under the Taliban administration was being used to mount attacks on Pakistan, adding that three of the four attackers in a recent assault on a Rangers camp in Karachi were Afghan nationals. The state’s position, he said, was that Fitna al-Hindustan had nothing to do with Balochistan or the Baloch people and that Fitna al-Khawarij had nothing to do with Islam.
Why it matters
The reported toll is among the deadliest in Balochistan in a single stretch this year and underscores the pressure on Pakistan’s security forces across the province as well as the government’s focus on cross-border militancy. The casualty figures and the characterisations of the attackers are those of the military’s media wing, as carried by the cited report, and were not independently verified here.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited source, which was reviewed on 2026-07-08.
- Geo News — "Army resolves to hunt down 'every terrorist, facilitator' after wave of Balochistan attacks"8 July 2026 · The ISPR press conference, the three attacks, the casualty figures and the operations in Kharan and Dalbandin.
