Pakistan attacks Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij camps in Afghanistan as part of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq

Security forces carried out precision strikes against terrorist camps and safe havens belonging to the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar. The attacks were carried out as part of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq. on the night of June 28-29, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Monday.

In a post on X, Tarar said the attacks eliminated terrorists and destroyed stockpiles of weapons and ammunition.

In a statement on Sunday, Tarar said security forces continued Operation Ghazab Lil Haq after a series of terror attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, and at a Sindh Rangers camp in Karachi.

Two days ago, security forces foiled a terror attack on a Sindh Rangers camp in Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of ​​Karachi. Three Rangers personnel were martyred and four others were injured during the assault, while three terrorists were killed and another, identified as an Afghan national, was captured wounded. The military attributed the attack to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and promised to continue operations against those responsible.

Tarar’s statement on Sunday claimed that security forces first carried out an intelligence-based ground operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Bajaur district on June 28, killing four militants, including alleged high-value commander Khan Farosh alias Zabal. Several more terrorists were injured.

Read: Captured terrorist uncovers cross-border plot

He added that the operation was followed by precision strikes on three terrorist targets in Paktia, Paktika and Kunar during the night of June 28-29. According to Tarar, 25 terrorists were killed in those attacks, bringing the total number of militants killed during the operation to 29. The statement also noted that large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored in the targeted fields and hideouts were destroyed.

“Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, but at the same time it will not compromise the security of our citizens, which remains our top priority,” Tarar said. He added that Pakistan’s anti-terrorism campaign under the Azm-e-Istehkam The strategy would continue “at full speed to eliminate the threat of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”

Fitna al-Khawarij is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar It is one of the breakaway factions of the group.

Read more: EU, UK envoys support Pakistan in fight against TTP

Fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan began in October, killing dozens of people on both sides, with Afghans hardest hit. Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harboring militants who launch attacks in Pakistan, although Kabul denies this and calls militancy an internal Islamabad problem.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched in late February following fresh clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired at multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.

Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes on terrorist positions. The two sides agreed to a week-long ceasefire on the eve of Eidul Fitr on March 18, following requests from Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

In April, Pakistan presented three key demands to the Afghan Taliban during peace talks in Urumqi, China, including formally declaring Kabul the TTP as a terrorist organization, dismantling its infrastructure, and presenting verifiable evidence of the action. The demands form the basis of Pakistan’s negotiating position, which sources say has hardened amid persistent security concerns.

In the latest development, Pakistan carried out “precision strikes” along the border against terrorist hideouts, killing 26 people. Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists in response to the recent terrorist attacks in the country.