Four terrorists were apprehended during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district on Wednesday, a statement released by the military’s media affairs wing said.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces conducted an IBO on the reported presence of “terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al Hindustan”.

The state has designated Balochistan-based groups such as Fitna-al-Hindustan to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilisation across Pakistan.

“During the conduct of [the] operation, own forces apprehended four [terrorists] trying to flee cowardly by disguising in women’s attire,” the ISPR said.

“Weapons and ammunition was also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area,” it added.

The ISPR further said that a sanitisation operation was being conducted to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area, adding that security forces were determined to wipeout the “menace of Indian-sponsored terrorism from the country and reaffirm the nation’s unwavering resolve to bring the perpetrators of terrorism to justice”.

Meanwhile, security forces carried out an IBO in Balochistan’s Kech District, where a terrorist hideout was busted and three Indian sponsored terrorists belonging to Fitna al Hindustan were successfully neutralised, the ISPR said.

“Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the [dead] khwarij and terrorists, who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities,” the military media wing said in a statement.

“[The] security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of Indian sponsored terrorism from the country and reaffirm the nation’s unwavering resolve to bring the perpetrators of terrorism and their facilitators to justice.”

Earlier, the ISPR said that an IBO had been carried out in Quetta district, in which 10 terrorists were killed.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti congratulated security personnel on the successful IBOs in the province today.

“Security forces conducted two successful operations against terrorists operating under Indian patronage,” he said in a statement, adding that 13 terrorists had been killed.

“Security forces thwarted the evil intentions of terrorists, [and] the sacrifices of the forces for establishing peace in Balochistan are unforgettable.”

Bugti said that operations in Balochistan would continue “until the complete elimination of terrorists operating under Indian patronage”.

Last week, security forces killed 17 “India-sponsored” terrorists during an IBO in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Additional reporting by Abdullah Zehri