Pakistan’s military announced on Tuesday that it had killed 50 militants during a four-day operation along the border with Afghanistan, in the southwestern province of Balochistan — a region critical to multi-billion-dollar Chinese Belt and Road infrastructure projects.

According to a military statement, the operation began last Thursday and targeted areas where both armed militant factions and Baloch separatist insurgents are active.

Baloch separatist groups have long demanded greater control over the province’s mineral resources, while Islamist militants have used the rugged border terrain as a base for cross-border attacks.

The military did not provide details on the identity of those killed. Independent analysts and militant groups have often accused Pakistan’s armed forces of inflating militant death tolls — an allegation the military strongly denies.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but least populated province, has been a focal point of unrest for decades, with separatist violence and militancy undermining development and security.

The province hosts key projects under the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship component of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, including the strategic Gwadar port. Security operations in the region have intensified in recent years, as Islamabad seeks to protect both domestic infrastructure and foreign investments from persistent insurgent and militant threats.