Pakistan strikes militant hideouts on Afghan border after surge in attacks | Pakistan
Pakistan launched attacks along the border with Afghanistan on Saturday night, saying it was targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants it blames for recent attacks inside the country.
Islamabad did not say specifically in which areas the attacks were carried out or provide any other details. There was no immediate comment from Kabul and reports on social media suggested the attacks were carried out in Afghanistan.
Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s information minister, wrote in He said that an organization affiliated with ISIS was also targeted in the border region.
In October, Pakistan also launched strikes deep into Afghanistan to target militant hideouts.
Tarar said Pakistan “always strives to maintain peace and stability in the region”, but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remains the top priority.
The latest development comes just days after a suicide bomber, backed by gunmen, crashed a vehicle loaded with explosives into the wall of a security post in the Bajaur district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan. The explosion caused part of the facility to collapse, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Authorities later announced that the attacker was an Afghan citizen.
Hours before the latest border attacks, another suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the northwestern Bannu district, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.
Following Saturday’s violence, the Pakistani military warned that it “will not impose any restrictions” and that operations against those responsible will continue “regardless of their location”; This indicated rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
Tarar said Pakistan had “conclusive evidence” that recent attacks, including a suicide bomb that targeted a Shiite mosque in Islamabad earlier this month and killed 31 worshipers, were carried out by militants acting “under the orders of leaders and handlers based in Afghanistan.”
He said Pakistan had repeatedly called on Taliban rulers in Afghanistan to take verifiable steps to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, but claimed no concrete action had been taken.
He said Pakistan called on the international community to pressure the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to fulfill their commitments under the Doha agreement not to allow their territory to be used against other countries.
Pakistan has seen an increase in militant violence in recent years; Much of this was blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP is separate from but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, which returned to power in 2021. Islamabad accuses TTP of operating from within Afghanistan; The group and Kabul deny this accusation.
Relations between the neighboring countries have remained tense since October, when dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants died in deadly border clashes. The violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan.
A ceasefire was largely achieved under the mediation of Qatar, but no formal agreement was reached during the talks in Istanbul and relations remain tense.
