The Pakistani army’s public relations wing, ISPR, has claimed that a total of 33 suspected armed men have been killed since 21 September during ongoing “counter-terrorism operations” in Balochistan.
According to a statement issued by ISPR, “On 24 September, in continuation of Operation Shaban, security forces destroyed more hideouts of armed men.”
The statement claimed that five suspected militants were killed in an exchange of fire, bringing the total number killed in the security agencies’ “operation” to 22.
ISPR further claimed that weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the militants’ hideouts and a “clearance operation” is still under way in the area.
According to the army, another raid was carried out on 25 September in Noshki district on the basis of intelligence.
The statement claimed that security forces targeted a militant hideout and 11 suspected militants were killed after an exchange of fire.
Keeping with past practice, ISPR did not disclose the identities of those killed to the media. Meanwhile, Pakistani mainstream and international media also did not bother to verify how much truth there is in the claim of 33 people killed in the military action, which was handed to the media only through an ISPR press release.
It should be noted that the ground realities of the Pakistani army’s claims of killing armed men in Balochistan are often the exact opposite. When details of the dead emerge, they are often identified as people who had already been forcibly disappeared, killed in custody or in a fake encounter and then declared “militants”. Influential media outlets appear completely unable and silent when it comes to independently and impartially verifying this whole process.
