Three civilians killed in Bajaur in Afghan Taliban’s unprovoked cross-border shelling: security sources

Three civilians, including two children, were martyred and three others were injured on Wednesday when Afghan Taliban forces carried out unprovoked firing on local people in a border area of ​​Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, according to state media.

The incident marks a renewed episode of cross-border aggression after a gap of over a month after Pakistan’s Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched in response to earlier unprovoked hostility from the Afghan side.

In a post on X, state television PTV News said, citing security sources, that “India-backed Afghan Taliban unprovoked aggression against the civilian population in the border village of Malak Shahin in the Kat Kot area of ​​Bajaur” martyred a woman and two children from the same house, while three were seriously injured, who were subsequently taken to the hospital for treatment.

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“The Afghan Taliban have tried to infiltrate a formation of khawarij mischief in Pakistan in the past few days. Due to the timely action of the Pakistan Army, the attempt to infiltrate khawarij misdeeds were thwarted. Frustrated by this failure, the Afghan Taliban targeted Pakistan’s civilian population in Kat Kot today,” the statement said.

It added that the Pakistan Army responded immediately and destroyed the gun position firing from across the border.

It further said that Pakistani forces also targeted Afghan Taliban positions along the Bajaur border, inflicting heavy casualties and resulting in heavy casualties to the Afghan Taliban.

“Residents of Bajaur have strongly condemned this cowardly act and expressed complete solidarity with the security forces. Security forces remain vigilant and determined at all times to protect people’s lives and property and establish lasting peace in the area. Targeting of the civilian population by the Afghan Taliban is a clear proof of their nefarious intentions and frustration,” the statement said.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched around the end of February following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Afghan Taliban forces fired at several locations, prompting swift military retaliation from Pakistan.

The neighboring countries were engaged in escalating hostilities along the border since then. Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions and subsided during a temporary ceasefire on the occasion of Eidul Fitr.

The escalation in tensions between the two countries followed a series of tit-for-tat actions over the past year.

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Pakistan has previously carried out airstrikes targeting camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan province inside Afghanistan following a spate of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.

Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, a claim that Kabul has repeatedly denied.

Tensions also rose after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along the Pakistan border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling.

The exchanges caused losses and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the border crossings were closed on 12 October 2025.