Islamabad says border strikes killed 29 fighters
Pakistan said it hit targets in eastern Afghanistan after attacks at home, a move likely to add pressure to already tense ties with Kabul.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Pakistan said its security forces killed 29 fighters in ground action and air strikes along the Afghan border after a series of deadly attacks inside the country. The operation risks worsening relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which Islamabad accuses of sheltering armed groups that attack Pakistan.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X that Pakistani forces destroyed three targets in the eastern Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar. He said the operation was aimed at hideouts and safe havens used by the Pakistan Taliban, also known as the TTP.
Afghan authorities did not immediately respond, Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press reported. Kabul has previously denied Pakistani allegations that it allows armed groups to use Afghan territory for attacks across the border.
Karachi attack preceded operation
The strikes came a day after gunmen with explosives attacked the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi, according to AFP and AP. Three soldiers were killed in that attack, and Pakistani security forces killed three attackers and captured another who was wounded, the military said.
The military identified the arrested attacker as an Afghan national, AFP and AP reported. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction that broke away from the Pakistan Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement on Saturday night.
Pakistani authorities have blamed the TTP and allied armed groups for much of the recent violence targeting police and security forces. The Pakistan Taliban is separate from the Afghan Taliban, though the two groups are allies, according to AFP and AP.
Border tensions remain high
The Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Since then, Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s government of harboring fighters who stage attacks inside Pakistan, particularly members of the TTP.
AFP and AP reported that Sunday’s operation followed Pakistani military air strikes less than three weeks earlier on what Islamabad described as armed group hideouts in Afghanistan. Those strikes ended about a month of relative calm after Pakistan had described the conflict with Afghanistan as an “open war.”
The two neighbors have exchanged military action for months, according to AFP and AP. Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan hit targets inside Afghan territory.
Several rounds of internationally mediated talks have failed to produce a lasting ceasefire. China hosted the two sides in April, and Beijing later said Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed not to escalate and to look for a solution, AFP and AP reported.
Pakistan has carried out multiple strikes since last year along the border and inside Afghanistan, saying it was targeting alleged hideouts of the TTP and other armed groups. Kabul has rejected Islamabad’s accusations, and the latest operation adds another flashpoint to an already strained relationship.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.