Pakistan security forces kill 29 fighters in Afghan border operations

Pakistan security forces kill 29 fighters in Afghan border operations

Pakistani security forces on Sunday conducted a ground operation and a series of calibrated strikes along the border with Afghanistan, killing 29 fighters, officials said.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced via X that the operation was a response to multiple militant attacks across Pakistan. According to Tarar, the military first executed an intelligence-based ground operation in Bajaur, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. That engagement resulted in the death of three individuals and a high value Khwarji Commander Khan Farosh.

Following the ground action, Pakistan launched precision strikes against terrorist camps and hideouts in three eastern Afghan provinces: Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar. Tarar stated these strikes killed 25 terrorists and destroyed large quantities of ammunition and weapons stored at the targeted hideouts and marakiz.

The operations targeted safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij, a term used by Pakistan to refer to the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). While the TTP is a separate armed group from the Afghan Taliban, the two are allies.

The Afghan government has sharply condemned the strikes. Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described the action as a cowardly act of aggression and a crime and an act of brutality, stating that the attacks caused the injury and death of dozens of civilians, including children and women. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government, specified that the strikes killed at least 36 civilians and wounded 163 others.

The military escalation follows an attack in the southern port city of Karachi. Militants using explosives and guns targeted the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers, killing three soldiers. Security forces killed three attackers during the incident and arrested a wounded Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the TTP, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement Saturday night.

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul remain strained. Pakistan has accused the Afghan Taliban government, which returned to power in 2021, of harboring militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies these charges.

This latest activity comes less than three weeks after the Pakistani military launched air strikes on fighter group hideouts in Afghanistan. These events ended a period of relative calm lasting about a month, following a phase Islamabad described as an open war.

The conflict has seen months of tit-for-tat military action. Since February, hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting, which escalated after Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes following Pakistani air strikes inside Afghan territory.

International efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire have struggled. Multiple rounds of mediated peace talks have failed, and an April meeting hosted by China resulted in a statement from Beijing that both countries had agreed to explore a solution and avoid escalating the conflict.

Tarar stated that while Pakistan has strived for regional stability, the government shall not compromise on the safety and security of our citizens.