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ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed four militants in the country’s restive southwestern Balochistan province, the military’s media wing said on Thursday, after an intelligence-based raid on their hideout.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is strategically important for its mineral wealth and as a transit hub for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, it has long been racked by a separatist insurgency, with groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) stepping up attacks in recent years.

Islamabad says these militants are backed by Indian intelligence, branding them “Fitna-e-Hindustan,” or India’s mischief, a charge New Delhi denies.

“On 17 September 2025, security forces conducted an intelligence based operation in Khuzdar District of Balochistan, on reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

“During the conduct of operation, own forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an intense fire exchange, four Indian sponsored terrorists were sent to hell,” it added.

The military said weapons, ammunition and explosives were recovered from the militants, who were involved in multiple attacks in the area.

A “sanitization operation” was also underway to eliminate any other terrorist found in the area, it added, vowing to eradicate militant violence and bring those responsible to justice.

Separatist militant groups in Balochistan accuse Pakistan of depriving the province’s locals of a share in its natural resources, allegations which Islamabad denies. 

The province has witnessed a string of high-profile attacks this year. In March, the BLA hijacked a passenger train, and in May, a suicide bombing in Khuzdar killed several children after targeting their school bus.

Security forces, civilians and non-local workers are frequently targeted, and authorities have relied on intelligence-based operations rather than launching a full-scale military campaign.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Meteorological Department on Thursday forecast thunderstorms and rain over the upper catchments of all major rivers in the next 24 hours, as the monsoon death toll since late June rose past 1,000 and authorities warned of high flooding in the Indus River in southern Sindh province.

Heavy rains and excess water released from Indian dams have caused three major rivers — the Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej — in the eastern Punjab province to swell late last month, inundating more than 4,700 villages in the country’s agricultural heartland, destroying crops and homes and forcing millions to flee.

The surging rivers have inundated crops and prompted the government to launch rescue operations to bring people to safety by setting up relief camps in different areas. While the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) announced this week that the situation was gradually normalizing, concerns for riverine floods increased in the downstream southern Sindh province as waters from the three monsoon-swollen rivers met the Indus.

“The River Indus at Guddu is in medium flood, Sukkur is in high flood and Kotri is in low flood level,” the PMD said in a statement, referring to three major barrages in Sindh.

“River Sutlej at Ganda Singh Wala is in medium flood whereas at Sulemanki and Islam it is at low flood level,” it continued. “The River Indus at Kotri is likely to remain in medium flood level up to the end of this month.”

Pakistan’s weather office said thunderstorms with light to moderate rain were also expected in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Lahore, Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Sargodha, Faisalabad and Zhob.

It predicted mostly dry weather after Sept. 19.

At least 300,000 people across Pakistan remain in tents, according to official figures. Over 2,000 relief camps are reported operational nationwide, with rescue operations continuing in Punjab and Sindh in coordination with the Pakistan Army and Navy.

Pakistan, which contributes only one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, is among the countries most severely affected by climate change.

Catastrophic floods in 2022 killed 1,700 people, affected 33 million and caused over $30 billion in damage.