DNA
A Pakistan Army major was martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Balochistan’s Gwadar while security forces killed four India-sponsored terrorists in an operation conducted in Kalat district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday.
According to the military’s media wing, security forces conducted a series of operations in Shadi Kaur area in Gwadar and Jattakabad in Kalat district on Sunday on the reported presence of terrorists.
The first engagement came when security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Jattakabad, effectively targeting a militant hideout, the ISPR said.
During the IBO, security forces killed four militants and recovered a large quantity of weapons and ammunition during the operation, it added.
Separately, security forces launched clearance operations in the Shadi Kaur area of Gwadar to eliminate other militants present in the area, the ISPR said.
During the clearance operation, a security forces contingent was targeted with an IED, resulting in the martyrdom of Major Wajahat Waheed, 37, a resident of Lahore.
The military’s media wing said that clearance operations would continue until the remaining militants in the area had been eliminated.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in cross-border terrorist incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Pakistan recorded its highest monthly number of militant attacks in 12 years during September 2026.
According to data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based independent think tank monitoring anti-state violence in the region, 225 militant attacks were recorded across the country in September, compared with 199 in August — an increase of 13%. Militant attacks increased for the third consecutive month.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by militant organisations to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan maintains that the Afghan Taliban regime has failed to take effective action against groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Despite multiple rounds of talks, Islamabad and Kabul have yet to resolve their differences, with the issue of militant groups operating from Afghan soil remaining a major point of contention between the two sides.
