Another four terrorists have been killed during the ongoing Operation Shaban in Balochistan, following which the total number of terrorists killed in the operation has reached 83, state-owned Pakistan TV reported on Tuesday, citing security sources.

The ongoing sweep was launched in retaliation for a deadly attack on a police post at the Mangi Dam pumping station in Ziarat. During that assault, armed attackers kidnapped and killed 27 police officers. Troops from the army, Frontier Corps, police and the Anti-Terrorism Force are participating in the joint operation.

In a post on the social media platform X, the broadcaster said, “Security sources say four more khawarij terrorists were killed in ongoing air and ground operations, taking the total number of terrorists killed in Operation Shaban to 83.”

“Since July 5, a total of 121 khawarij terrorists have been eliminated in Operation Shaban and other intelligence-based operations,” it said, adding that the operation would continue “until the last terrorist is neutralised”.

A post on the interior ministry’s X account said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi commended the security forces for “further successes” in Operation Shaban.

“The Pakistan Army, Balochistan FC and police’s remarkable successes during the joint operation are praiseworthy,” the statement quoted him as saying.

He added that the nation valued the security forces’ effective action against the terrorists of Fitna-al-Hindustan — a term that the government uses to refer to groups in Balochistan it accuses of being sponsored by India to execute terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil.

Naqvi said, “Security forces have foiled the nefarious designs of Fitna-al-Hindustan.”

He further expressed the resolve that security forces’ joint operations would continue until the eradication of terrorism, adding that the entire nation was standing with the security forces in this fight.

On Monday, Naqvi said that the killing of terrorists in Operation Shaban and other intelligence-based operations “reflects the high level of preparedness, professionalism, and operational readiness of Pakistan’s security forces”.

Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the country’s civil and military leadership had taken a “mutual and singular decision” to end terrorism after multiple major terrorist incidents in Balochistan.