Latest news with #FitnaAlHindustan
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Army says major, sepoy killed in counterterror operation in Pakistan's southwest
ISLAMABAD: An army major and a sepoy were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan's southwestern Mastung district, the military's media wing said on Thursday amid Islamabad's battle against surging militancy. The latest operation took place in Balochistan's Mastung district on July 23 when security forces received reports of the presence of "terrorists" belonging to "Fitna al Hindustan," a term the Pakistani military uses for militants it says are backed by neighbor and archrival India. The military said three militants were killed during its counterterror operation. However, Major Zeeyyad Salim Awal, 31, and Sepoy Nazam Hussain, 22, were killed during the exchange of fire, the military's media wing said. "Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian Sponsored Terrorism from the country," the military said. "And such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve." Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has long been the site of separatist and insurgent violence, and Islamabad has frequently alleged Indian involvement in destabilizing activities there, a charge New Delhi denies. India accuses Pakistan of training and funding militant groups in the part of disputed Kashmir that New Delhi administers. Islamabad denies the allegations and says it only extends diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir. The two countries engaged in the worst fighting between them since 1998 in May this year, pounding each other with drones, fighter jets, missiles and artillery fire before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan army says 8 India-linked militants killed in two-day sweep in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces have killed eight militants in operations conducted over two days in the southwestern Balochistan province, the military said on Tuesday, describing the insurgents as Indian proxies. The fighting took place in Kalat district during an intelligence-based operation targeting suspected 'Fitna al Hindustan,' a term the Pakistani military uses for militants it says are backed by neighbor and archrival India. Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has long been the site of separatist and insurgent violence, and Islamabad has frequently alleged Indian involvement in destabilizing activities there, a charge New Delhi denies. 'Following the successful intelligence based operation conducted by the security forces in Kalat District of Balochistan on 19 July 2025, during which 4 x terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan were sent to hell; on 21 July 2025, a deliberate sanitization operation was conducted in the surrounding areas,' the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military's media wing, said in a statement. 'During the conduct of the operation, four more terrorists of Fitna al Hindustan were hunted down and successfully neutralized.' The military said a hideout was also 'busted' and a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered. In a separate statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised security forces for the Kalat operation and reaffirmed his government's resolve to eliminate terrorism. 'The terrorists who seek to harm the lives and property of innocent citizens will have their nefarious ambitions buried,' Sharif said in a statement issued by his office. 'We will uproot Fitna al Hindustan, the enemy of Pakistan's sovereignty.' The operation follows a series of recent accusations and military tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, including most recently when they engaged in a four-day long air war in May. India and Pakistan have in the past fought multiple wars over the disputed Kashmir region and regularly trade blame over cross-border militancy.
Arab News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan military officer killed in clash with India-linked militants in Balochistan — army
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani army officer was killed during a clash with militants in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Tuesday, the military said, saying the assailants were Indian proxies operating inside Pakistan. The fighting took place in Awaran district during an intelligence-based operation targeting suspected members of 'Fitna al Hindustan,' a term the Pakistani military uses for militants it says are backed by India. The region, part of Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, has long experienced separatist and insurgent violence, and Islamabad has frequently alleged Indian involvement in destabilizing activities there, a charge New Delhi has repeatedly denied. According to the Pakistani military's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), troops engaged the suspected militants at their hideout and killed three. 'During the conduct of operation, own troops effectively engaged the terrorist location and resultantly, three Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,' ISPR said in a statement. The military said Major Syed Rabnawaz Tariq, 34, was killed in the firefight while leading the operation. He was a resident of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. 'Major Syed Rabnawaz Tariq … a brave officer who was leading his troops from the front, fought gallantly and paid the ultimate sacrifice,' the statement said. A sanitization operation was underway following the clash to clear the area of any remaining militants, the military said, adding that such actions were part of Pakistan's broader effort to eliminate what it described as 'Indian Sponsored Terrorism' within its borders. 'The security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian Sponsored Terrorism from the country, and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve,' the statement added. The incident follows a series of recent accusations and military tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors, including most recently when they exchanged in a four-day long air war in May. They have in the past fought multiple wars and regularly trade blame over unrest in disputed Kashmir and border regions.
Arab News
01-07-2025
- Health
- Arab News
Teenager killed, 11 injured as militants storm southwestern Pakistani town
QUETTA: Dozens of militants armed with guns and rockets stormed the Mastung town in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, a government spokesman and health officials said on Tuesday, with a teenager killed and 11 others injured in the attack. The militants stormed a bank, tehsil and other offices, Balochistan government spokesman Shahid Rind said, adding that gunfire by militants killed a 16-year-old boy and injured seven others. Dr. Saeed Meerwani, medical superintendent of Mastung District Headquarters Hospital, told one body and three injured were brought to the hospital, while Arbab Awais Kasi, a spokesman for Nawab Ghous Bukhsh Raisani Hospital, said the facility treated and discharged eight injured persons. 'FC [Frontier Corps paramilitary], CTD [Counter-Terrorism Department] and Levies [paramilitary] surrounded the area and the militants retreated,' Rind said in a statement. 'Two terrorists were killed and three were injured in the exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists.' Rind said the attack was carried out by 'Fitna Al-Hindustan,' a reference to alleged Indian-backed Baloch separatist groups in the region. New Delhi denies supporting militancy in Pakistan. Balochistan has long been the scene of a low-level insurgency by separatists seeking independence from the central government. The province is also home to militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban and the Daesh (Islamic State) group. 'The swift response by security forces helped prevent further loss of lives,' Rind said. 'A full-scale operation is underway against the terrorists present in the area.' He said security agencies have also started searching for the facilitators of the attackers. In recent months, the separatists have mounted their attacks against the government and security forces in Balochistan, where the military has a huge presence in and has long run intelligence-based operations against groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). In March, the BLA separatist hijacked a train with hundreds of passengers aboard near Balochistan's Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed. More than 50 people, including security forces, were killed in August last year in a string of coordinated assaults in the province that were claimed by the BLA.
Arab News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Pakistan says initial probe confirms Indian involvement in school bus attack in Balochistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Friday that its initial probe into an attack on a school bus in the Balochistan province has confirmed the involvement of 'Indian terror proxies,' promising to defeat the 'nefarious' designs. Balochistan has been the site of an insurgency for decades, though it has intensified more recently, with groups like the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) carrying out high-profile attacks on civilians and security forces. On Wednesday, at least seven people, including six children, were killed when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device targeted the school bus en route to an army-run school in Balochistan's Khuzdar. Speaking at a press conference alongside a Pakistani military spokesman, Interior Secretary Khurram Muhammad Agha called the Khuzdar bombing an attack on 'our values, our education and on the very fabric of our society.' 'Initial findings confirm that this attack is in continuity of a broader pattern of violence sponsored by India through Fitna Al-Hindustan (FAH) operating under the tutelage and the patronage of the Indian intelligence agency R&AW,' he said, without offering any proof to link New Delhi to Wednesday's assault. The Indian administration has distanced itself from the Khuzdar school bus bombing, attributing such acts of violence to Pakistan's 'internal failures.' The FAH comprises several separatist groups and independently operating cells who have been operating in the insurgency-hit southwestern Pakistani province, according to the Pakistani officials. These cells, after having suffered immense casualties in past few years, have now resorted to hitting 'soft targets.' 'The terror proxies of Hindustan [India] have been tasked to accentuate their heinous attacks of terrorism in Balochistan and elsewhere, sabotage development in the region, incite fear among the population and derail the journey of peace and development in an attempt to repeat their playbook of 1971 [a reference to the fall of Dhaka],' he said. During the presser, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry detailed various incidents of violence that he said were carried out by India-backed groups. 'Very recently the media international media has seen self-given confessions and acknowledgements of multiple surrendered terrorists of this Fitna Al-Hindustan who told that how Hindustan is funding, planning and carrying out terrorist acts in Balochistan,' he noted. Relations between Pakistan and India touched a new low last month, when gunmen killed 26 people in Indian-administered Kashmir in an attack India blamed on Pakistan. Islamabad denies complicity and Lt Gen Chaudhry said New Delhi had still not provided any evidence to back up its accusation. A day earlier, Pakistan's top diplomat at the United Nations (UN) said they would raise the school bus attack at the UN and present evidence of Indian involvement to the international community. 'This was a heinous terrorist act directed against children, against students, [which is] totally unacceptable and condemnable,' Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad told Arab News in an interview. Interior Secretary Agha said Pakistan and its people, particularly those in Balochistan, reject such 'nefarious designs' and Islamabad had the capacity and will to dismantle these networks and to bring the perpetrators and their handlers to justice. 'I assure you that the state in collaboration with the provincial governments and the state apparatus will defeat them,' he said. 'These Indian sponsored terrorists have no place in Pakistan. We have the wherewithal and the commitment to bring an end to this violence. Our resolved is firm and our response will be decisive.' Pakistan and India have a history of bitter relations and frequently accuse each other of fomenting militancy in the other's territory. Both countries have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir.
