Pakistani security forces executed a ground operation on Sunday along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. This was followed by targeted strikes on militant hideouts, resulting in the deaths of 29 fighters, according to officials.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated in a post on X that this operation responded to numerous militant attacks across Pakistan. There was no immediate response from Afghanistan.
Pakistan has faced an increase in militant attacks targeting police and security forces in recent years. Authorities have implicated the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and related militant groups, for most of the assaults.
Security personnel inspect a compound in Karachi on Sunday. Image: Asif Hassan / AFP via Getty Images.
The military action follows an attack on a paramilitary Rangers compound in Karachi, where three soldiers were killed by militants armed with guns and explosives. Security forces killed three attackers and took another one, identified as an Afghan national, into custody in a wounded state.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement
Tarar mentioned that the recent operation along the Afghan border specifically targeted the hideouts and safe havens of the Pakistani Taliban. These groups are distinct from the Afghan Taliban, although they have allied ties. The Afghan Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Impact on Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations
These recent operations may further impact already strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
Sunday’s cross-border strikes and ground operations occurred less than three weeks after Pakistan’s military conducted airstrikes on alleged militant shelters in Afghanistan. These events ended about a month of relative calm that followed Islamabad’s description of an “open war” between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Taliban security personnel near the Torkham border crossing in February. Image: Aimal Zahir / AFP via Getty Images.
Since February, cross-border fighting has resulted in hundreds of deaths, with Afghanistan launching retaliatory strikes after Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
Despite multiple internationally mediated peace talks, a lasting ceasefire remains elusive. In April, China hosted the two sides, and later, Beijing announced that Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed not to escalate their conflict and to explore peaceful resolutions.
Pakistan has conducted numerous strikes along the border and inside Afghanistan since last year, focusing on alleged TTP and other militant hideouts. Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban government of providing refuge to militants conducting deadly attacks in Pakistan, a claim Kabul denies.