Pakistan says security forces killed over 2,000 militants in 2026 operations

Pakistan's security forces have killed more than 2,000 militants in over 40,000 counterterrorism operations conducted nationwide so far this year, the military said Friday.

At a news conference at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said security forces had carried out an extensive campaign against militant groups and vowed to continue operations.

"There is no way to talk to any terrorist group," Chaudhry said. "They must either lay down their arms or face the consequences."

According to military figures, Pakistan recorded 3,145 militant attacks, including 28 suicide bombings, in 2026.

In response, security forces conducted more than 40,000 operations, including over 31,000 intelligence-based operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, killing 2,084 militants, Chaudhry said.

The violence claimed the lives of 303 Pakistan Army personnel, 194 police officers and other law enforcement officials, and 322 civilians, according to the military.

Chaudhry rejected what he described as negative portrayals of the security situation in Balochistan on social media and by parts of the international media, saying conditions in the province were improving.

He said the military and government were pursuing development projects aimed at benefiting local communities.

"The era of elitism and sardarism dominance is ending," he said, arguing that resources previously controlled by local elites would instead benefit the wider public.

Balochistan, a mineral-rich province and a key corridor for the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has long faced a separatist insurgency.

On Afghan refugees, Chaudhry said Pakistan would continue repatriating undocumented Afghan nationals.

He said about 2.6 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan since the policy was launched in September 2023, including around 600,000 so far this year.

Pakistan welcomes Afghan nationals who enter legally with valid visas, he said, but reiterated that those residing in the country illegally would not be allowed to remain.