Pakistan says 42 of its security personnel killed by militants

Militants in southwestern Pakistan have killed 42 army and police personnel in multiple attacks, the country’s military has said. 

Lieutenant General Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry told a press conference on Wednesday that fighters were using territory under the control of Afghanistan’s Taliban government to carry out the attacks. 

Chaudhry added that Pakistani security forces had killed 54 militants during the incidents in the province of Balochistan. 

“We will hunt you and we will hurt you everywhere,” Chaudhry warned militants.

“We will take on each and each and every terrorist, their facilitators, those who harbour them, those who furnish them, those who provide them bases, wherever they are, without any distinction.”

Pakistan has been struggling against separatist groups in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, for years.

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Groups including the Balochistan Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban have carried out frequent attacks in the mineral rich region.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing the Pakistani Taliban to operate from Afghan territory. Afghanistan has denied doing so. 

Islamabad has also accused India of supporting the Balochistan Liberation Army, claims which India has dismissed as baseless and politically motivated.

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