Security forces killed five terrorists in an intelligence based operation (IBO) in Balochistan’s Kohlu district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Friday.

According to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the operation was conducted on December 25 on the “reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna-al-Hindustan”.

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

The ISPR statement added that during the conduct of the operation, “own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, five Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell”.

The military’s media wing elaborated that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, “who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area”.

“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area as relentless Counter Terrorism campaign under vision “Azm e Istehkam” (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by Security Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for killing the terrorists, saying, “We will foil the nefarious designs of terrorists who are enemies of humanity,” and that the entire nation stands with the security forces in the fight against terrorism.

According to a statement, the PM said the government is determined to completely eradicate all forms of terrorism from the country.

Earlier this month, 12 terrorists were killed during an IBO in Balochistan’s Kalat.

In October, the Islamabad-based think tank Centre for Research and Security Studies said that violence had surged in the third quarter of 2025 due to a spike in militant attacks and intensified counter-terrorism operations.

Last year, the federal government, in a meeting comprising top civilian and military leaders, announced a comprehensive, nationwide anti-militant operation codenamed ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ to mitigate a rise in attacks on security forces by militant groups.