Pakistan says offensive is led by ‘robust intelligence’; More than 80 terrorists eliminated with precision strikes
Afghan men gather at the site of a nighttime airstrike in the village of Girdi Kas, Bihsud district, Nangarhar province. Photo: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
On Saturday night, Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes against terrorist camps inside Afghanistan, in response to 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.
This development marks a sharp escalation in 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 airstrikes in Afghanistan after reports of multiple explosions emerged in several districts of the neighboring country.
According to an official evening press release, Pakistan said it had “conclusive evidence” that the recent attacks were orchestrated by terrorists at the behest of its leaders and officials in Afghanistan.
The statement said the suicide bombings targeted an Imambargah in Islamabad, followed by an attack in Bajaur and another in Bannu district 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 its affiliates, as well as the Islamic State of 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 sanctuaries across the border.
“Despite Pakistan’s repeated efforts to urge the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable steps to deny the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups and foreign proxies to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime did not take any substantive action against them,” the statement said.
He added that while Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, “the security of our citizens remains our top priority.”
“In this context, Pakistan, in a repressive response, has carried out intelligence-based targeted attacks against seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with precision and accuracy,” the press release stated.
Authorities said the attacks were “selective” and based on actionable intelligence linking the target sites to the planners and facilitators of recent attacks inside Pakistan. They maintained that the operation was limited in scope and designed to dismantle infrastructure used to launch cross-border terrorism.
The statement did not give figures, but Express News, citing military sources, reported that all 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 Paktika Center and Khawarij Mukhlis Yar Paktika Centre.
The official statement reiterated Pakistan’s expectation that the interim Afghan government would fulfill its obligations and deny the use of its land to militants targeting Pakistan. “The safety of the people of Pakistan comes first and foremost,” the statement emphasized.
He called on the international community to play a “positive and constructive role” in urging the Taliban regime to fulfill 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 United States and the Afghan Taliban, according to which the latter committed that groups or individuals would not use Afghan soil to threaten the security of other States.
However, Kabul strongly rejected Pakistan’s account of events. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said it had summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul in response to what it described as “attacks by Pakistani forces against the Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika.”
The Afghan Foreign Ministry said it “strongly condemns the violation of Afghan airspace and shelling of civilians by the Pakistani army, and considers it a clear violation of the territorial integrity of Afghanistan and an act of provocation.”
“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 party,” the statement added.
Pakistani officials, however, rejected allegations that civilians were targeted, insisting that the attacks were carried out against militant hideouts in border regions used to plan and execute attacks inside Pakistan.
Security sources said the targeted camps were located on land along the porous border and had long been marked as centers of cross-border infiltration. They said that people linked to 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” measures against TTP elements, arguing that their continued presence in Afghanistan undermines bilateral ties and regional security.
Kabul, in turn, has denied allowing 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, who share a long and contentious border. While both sides have strongly stated their positions, the immediate challenge will be to avoid further deterioration.
For now, Islamabad appears determined to send a clear message that cross-border terrorist attacks will provoke a response, even as it calls on Kabul and the broader international community to ensure that Afghan territory is not used to destabilize Pakistan.
