Tarar says airstrikes destroyed ammunition caches; Kabul denies, claims civilian victims
A Pakistani army tank stands at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on February 27, 2026, following cross-border fighting between the two countries overnight. Photo: AFP
Pakistan’s armed forces carried out precision airstrikes late on March 16 under “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” targeting what officials described as terror-supporting military installations of the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul and Nangarhar, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Tuesday.
“Technical support infrastructure and ammunition depots at two locations in Kabul were effectively destroyed. The visible secondary detonations after the attacks clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots,” Tarar wrote on X.
✅ 17 March 2026
✅ Pakistan’s armed forces successfully carried out precision airstrikes on the night of March 16 as part of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, targeting terrorism from the Afghan Taliban regime sponsored military installations in Kabul and Nangarhar.
✅ Technical support… pic.twitter.com/b8YJkGC0cv
— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) March 16, 2026
He said four Afghan Taliban regime “terror-sponsoring” military sites were also hit in Nangarhar, destroying associated logistics, ammunition and technical infrastructure.
According to the minister, the attacks were “precise” and limited to infrastructure used by the Afghan Taliban regime to support its “several terrorist proxies”, including Fitna Al Khawarij and Fitna Al Hindustan – terms Pakistani authorities use for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) respectively.
“False claims made by propagandists of the Taliban regime cannot fool the Afghans and the world from their heinous acts of supporting and sponsoring terrorism in the region,” he said.
Afghan Taliban authorities in Kabul said the attacks hit a drug processing center and killed civilians – a claim Pakistani security sources dismissed as “ridiculous”.
Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched last month 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 have since then been engaged in escalating hostilities along the border. Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions.
“Operations under Ghazab Lil Haq to protect Pakistani citizens from terrorism led by Master Terror Proxy (Afghan Taliban) will continue until the desired objectives are fully achieved,” Tarar said.
Read also: Precision hits Taliban depot in Kabul
Video footage circulated after the attacks showed high flames and secondary explosions, which a source said confirmed that a large warehouse of explosives had been attacked in the Afghan capital.
Earlier, security sources said the army was conducting operations in the Kurram sector, targeting key hideouts used by Afghan Taliban operatives and Fitna al-Khawarij. Several positions allegedly used for terrorist activities were hit.
The operation destroyed several Taliban posts and killed several Khawarij – a term used by the authorities for terrorists linked to the TTP – while others fled, the sources added.
In a separate development, Pakistani forces also carried out retaliatory operations in the Bajaur sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, targeting Afghan Taliban positions near the border.
Security sources said the operation destroyed several Taliban positions, with the army also using guided missiles during the attacks.
The latest escalation of tensions between the two countries follows a series of bumbling actions over the past year.
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.
Read more: 13 terrorists killed in intelligence-based operations across KP
Pakistani security sources said that more than 80 terrorists were killed in these attacks. The attacks led to attacks from Afghanistan along the border, sparking the latest round of open conflict.
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.
