Pakistan's Operation Shaban kills over 100 militants in Balochistan in seven days of air and ground strikes
A joint Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps, and police operation codenamed Operation Shaban entered its seventh day on July 12 in Balochistan, with security sources reporting a cumulative death toll of at least 102 to 109 militants killed; the operation was launched after a terrorist attack in Ziarat district and combines air and ground strikes across the province
أضف إلى قائمة
لا قوائم بعد.
Summary
Pakistan's military launched Operation Shaban in Balochistan province following a terrorist attack in Ziarat district, deploying the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps Balochistan, and police in combined air and ground strikes. By the seventh day, July 12, Pakistani security sources and state media reported cumulative militant deaths ranging from 71 (Geo News security sources, Operation Shaban alone) to 109 (Radio Pakistan, including concurrent intelligence-based operations). Dawn and Geo News, Pakistan's two most widely read independent outlets, carried differing figures, reflecting state media versus field-sources reporting gaps.
Why it matters
Balochistan is Pakistan's largest and most resource-rich province and the site of a long-running ethnic nationalist and Islamist insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives since the 1970s. A seven-day air-and-ground operation with a death toll above 100 is among the largest single-week security actions recorded in the province and comes amid elevated Pakistan-India tensions, with Pakistani military sources claiming some killed militants had India-linked backing.
What to watch
- Independent confirmation of casualty figures, including civilian casualties, which state media have not addressed.
- Whether the باكستان تخوض حرباً على جبهتين مع توافق هجمات جيش تحرير بلوشستان وتحريك طالبان باكستان dynamics shift after Operation Shaban, particularly for the Baloch Liberation Army.
- Pakistani government or ISPR announcement of the operation's conclusion or extension.
- Any response from Baloch nationalist political groups or diaspora organisations.