Pakistan says offensive led by ‘solid intelligence’; Over 80 terrorists eliminated in precision strikes
Afghan men gather at the site of an overnight airstrike in the village of Girdi Kas in the Bihsud district of Nangarhar province. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes against terrorist camps inside Afghanistan late on Saturday night in retaliation for a series of deadly suicide bombings, including an attack on an Imambargah in Islamabad and multiple explosions in Bajaur and Bannu during the holy month of Ramazan.
The development marks a sharp escalation of tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, with Afghan authorities summoning Pakistan’s ambassador and condemning what they called a violation of their territorial integrity.
Unlike in the past, this time Pakistan was quick to confirm the airstrikes in Afghanistan after several explosions were reported in several districts in the neighboring country.
According to the official press release late in the evening, Pakistan said it had “conclusive evidence” that the latest attacks were orchestrated by terrorists at the behest of their Afghanistan-based commanders and leaders.
The statement said suicide bombers targeted an Imambargah in Islamabad, followed by one attack each in Bajaur and Bannu districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and another incident in Bannu on Saturday.
The attacks were claimed by the Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna al Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, as well as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP). Islamabad has increasingly used the term “Khwarij” to describe factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says operate from the sanctuaries across the border.
“Despite repeated efforts by Pakistan to call on the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable measures to deny terrorist groups and foreign proxies the use of Afghan territory to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime failed to take any real action against them,” the statement said.
It added that while Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, “the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority”.
“In this context, in a retaliatory response, Pakistan has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts of Pakistani Taliban by FAK and its affiliates and ISKP on the Pakistan-Afghan border with precision and accuracy,” the press release said.
Officials said the attacks were “selective” and based on actionable intelligence linking the targeted sites to planners and facilitators of recent attacks in Pakistan. They maintained that the operation was limited in scope and designed to dismantle infrastructure used to launch cross-border terrorism.
The statement gave no figures, but Express News, citing its military sources, reported that the seven TTP hideouts in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost were destroyed and more than 80 Khawarij terrorists were killed.
The report identified the destroyed terrorist hideouts as New Center No 1 Nangarhar, New Center No 2 Nangarhar, Khawarij Maulvi Abbas Centre, Khost, Khawarij Islam Centre, Nangarhar, Khawarij Ibrahim Centre, Nangarhar, Khawarij Mullah Rehbar Center Paktika and Khawarij Mukhlis Yar Center Paktika.
The official statement reiterated Pakistan’s expectation that the interim Afghan government would fulfill its obligations and deny the use of the country’s soil by militants targeting Pakistan. “The safety and security of people of Pakistan comes first,” the statement stressed.
It urged the international community to play a “positive and constructive role” by urging the Taliban regime to stand by its commitments under the Doha agreement to prevent Afghan territory from being used against other countries.
The reference was to the 2020 agreement between the US and the Afghan Taliban, under which the latter promised that Afghan soil would not be used by groups or individuals to threaten the security of other states.
However, Kabul strongly rejected Pakistan’s account of the events. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said it had summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul in response to what it described as “attacks by Pakistani forces on Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.”
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly condemns the violation of Afghan airspace and the bombing of civilians by the Pakistan Army and considers it a clear violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and a provocative act.”
“It was made clear to the Pakistani side that protecting the territory of Afghanistan is the legal responsibility of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the responsibility for the negative consequences of such attacks lies with the other side,” the statement added.
However, Pakistani officials rejected claims that civilians were targeted and insisted that the strikes were carried out against militant hideouts in border regions used to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Security sources said the targeted camps were located in terrain along the porous border and had long been flagged as hubs for cross-border infiltration. They said people associated with the recent suicide bombings had received logistical and operational support from these locations.
The latest escalation comes amid a renewed wave of terrorism in Pakistan’s western regions. Attacks claimed by the TTP and ISKP have increased over the past year, straining relations between Islamabad and Kabul and complicating efforts to stabilize the border.
Islamabad has repeatedly demanded that Afghan authorities take “visible and verifiable” action against TTP elements, arguing that their continued presence in Afghanistan undermines bilateral ties and regional security.
Kabul, in turn, has refused to allow any group to use its soil against other countries and has often called for dialogue to resolve differences.
Diplomatic observers say the current crisis could further complicate already fragile relations between the two neighbors, which share a long and disputed border. While both sides have signaled their positions strongly, the immediate challenge will be to prevent further deterioration.
For now, Islamabad appears determined to send a clear message that cross-border terrorist attacks will invite a response, even as it calls on Kabul and the wider international community to ensure that Afghan territory is not used to destabilize Pakistan.
