Pakistan’s military said security forces clashed with insurgents in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Wednesday, an exchange it said began during an operation to rout militants in Barkhan district. The military said the fighting killed five soldiers, including an army major, and also left seven militants dead.
The military said the operation targeted insurgents in Balochistan as part of Islamabad’s broader security campaign in the province. It said the insurgency it faces is backed by India, a claim that has been a recurring element of Pakistan’s account of regional militant activity.
In a statement, an outlawed separatist group, the Baloch Liberation Army, said its fighters attacked the soldiers and that the attack triggered the shootout. The group’s account directly tied its action to the clashes described by the military, with both sides describing a confrontation in Barkhan rather than a separate set of incidents.
Among the deaths, the military said an army major was killed in the fighting. It also said the militants killed in the operation were Baloch Liberation Army members, describing them using the term “Fitna al-Hindustan,” which Pakistani authorities use for Indian-backed insurgents.
Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest province by area but has a small population, and it has long faced an insurgency involving separatist groups as well as attacks by the Pakistani Taliban. In this context, the Baloch Liberation Army has carried out attacks targeting security forces and civilians in the province in recent years, according to the military’s broader description of its campaign.
The report also noted the U.S. designation of the Baloch Liberation Army as a terrorist organization in 2019. It said that India has repeatedly denied supporting militant groups inside Pakistan, rejecting Islamabad’s assertions that Indian backing supports insurgents there.