Karachi (Rajeev Sharma): Pakistan’s government has announced a series of overnight military strikes targeting alleged militant strongholds near the Afghan border, saying multiple insurgent camps were destroyed and dozens of fighters killed.
In remarks issued early Sunday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the armed forces conducted “carefully planned, intelligence-led operations” against seven locations believed to be used by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated networks. He also indicated that an Islamic State-linked faction operating in the frontier belt was among those hit.
Officials stopped short of naming the precise areas targeted. However, regional observers and social media reports suggested the operations may have extended across the border. Afghan authorities had not immediately commented on the claims at the time of reporting.
The strikes follow a wave of violence in Pakistan’s northwestern districts. Days earlier, a suicide attacker drove an explosives-packed vehicle into a security compound in Bajaur, killing 11 soldiers and a child when part of the structure collapsed. In a separate incident in Bannu, another bomber targeted a military convoy, resulting in the deaths of two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.
Following those attacks, Pakistan’s military signaled a tougher posture, stating it would pursue militants responsible for cross-border violence “wherever they may be.” Sunday’s operation appears to be the first major action since that warning.
Tarar asserted that Islamabad has gathered solid evidence linking recent assaults — including a deadly bombing at a Shiite mosque in the capital that killed 31 worshippers — to planners based in Afghanistan. He accused Kabul’s Taliban administration of failing to curb militant groups using Afghan territory to stage attacks in Pakistan, despite repeated requests.
The TTP, an outlawed group in Pakistan, has intensified operations in recent years. Though separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban, it is widely considered ideologically aligned. Both Kabul and the TTP have denied accusations that Afghan soil is being used to coordinate attacks.
Tensions between the neighboring countries have been simmering since last year’s cross-border clashes that left casualties on both sides. While a ceasefire brokered with Qatari mediation has largely held, diplomatic efforts have yet to produce a durable framework to ease security concerns.
With violence rising again in the border provinces, analysts say the latest strikes could further strain already fragile ties between Islamabad and Kabul, raising questions about regional stability in the months ahead.
