Pakistani police arrested at least 43 suspects on charges of keeping connection with Taliban militants in the southwest Balochistan province, police sources told Xinhua.

The arrest had been made by security forces on Thursday evening during a raid in Kuchlak, an outskirt of provincial capital Quetta, in an attempt to ensure security in the province plagued by insurgency and terrorism.

The suspects were allegedly involved in extortion, land mafia and other petty crimes, and they are being questioned, an official said.

A senior police officer confirmed that majority of the detained are Afghan refugees. Balochistan shares a long border with Afghanistan and Iran.

Similar search operations are also underway in different parts of northwest tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which is the frontline in the war against terror.