Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed carrying out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, saying the operation targeted militant hideouts along the border and killed 26 members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In a statement, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in response to a series of recent attacks inside Pakistan, including an assault on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, a vehicle-borne suicide attack on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2, and an attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9.
Tarar said Pakistani forces carried out what he described as “precise and calibrated strikes” on militant hideouts and safe havens in border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“Based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of camps and hideouts was carried out with precision and accuracy,” he said.
According to the statement, four targets were destroyed, including a training center, a hideout, an ammunition cache and facilities allegedly linked to militant commanders Aleem Khan Khushali and Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel.
Pakistan said the operation killed 26 militants and was part of its broader counterterrorism campaign under the government’s “Azm-e-Istehkam” strategy.
The confirmation came hours after Taliban said Pakistan has carried out overnight airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Khost and Paktika.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes killed at least 13 civilians, including 11 children, one woman and one elderly man, and wounded 14 others. He said Pakistan had targeted residential areas and condemned the attacks as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
Pakistan’s statement did not address the Taliban’s casualty claims or allegations that civilians had been killed.
The strikes mark a renewed escalation in tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban after weeks of relative calm.
Relations between the two sides have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with Pakistan accusing the Taliban of allowing TTP militants to operate from Afghanistan’s territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan. Taliban have repeatedly rejected the accusations, saying they do not permit anyone to use the country’s soil to threaten other nations.
The latest operation follows a broader cycle of cross-border violence that intensified earlier this year. A recent report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres said hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan caused 764 civilian casualties between late January and the end of March, including 372 deaths and 392 injuries.
Despite several rounds of talks, including recent meetings in Urumqi, China, the two sides have yet to bridge deep disagreements over border security and militant activity.
Pakistan has maintained that its actions are aimed at militant groups responsible for attacks inside the country, while Taliban have described such strikes as violations of Afghanistan’s territory and international law.
