The security forces of Pakistan on 6 December carried out an intelligence-based operation in the Kalat district of Balochistan, acting on information about the presence of terrorists linked to Fitna Al Hindustan, an Indian-sponsored proxy group, the military’s media wing said on Saturday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), troops engaged the militants after locating their hideout.

An intense exchange of fire followed, during which 12 terrorists were killed.

The ISPR said the group had been involved in “numerous terrorist activities” in the region. A cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered from the site.

Following the operation, security forces launched a sanitisation effort to ensure no other terrorists linked to the network remained in the area.

The statement added that Pakistan’s counterterrorism campaign under “Azm-e-Istehkam”, approved by the Federal Apex Committee on the National Action Plan, would continue at full pace to eliminate “foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism” from the country.