Pakistan says its security forces have killed 29 militants during a ground operation backed by “calibrated strikes” along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, marking the latest escalation in months of cross-border violence between Islamabad and Kabul.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation was launched in response to a series of militant attacks across Pakistan, including Friday’s assault on the regional headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers in Karachi. In a statement posted on X, Tarar said security forces targeted militant hideouts and safe havens used by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), adding that three targets in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces were struck. “Twenty-nine terrorists were killed“, he said.
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The military action came a day after heavily armed militants stormed the Rangers compound in Karachi, killing three security personnel before Pakistani forces shot dead three attackers and captured another suspect alive. Pakistan identified the captured militant as an Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction aligned with the TTP, claimed responsibility for the Karachi assault.
Pakistan has blamed the TTP for a sharp increase in attacks on police and security forces over the past several years. Officials maintain that many TTP fighters operate from sanctuaries across the Afghan border, an allegation repeatedly denied by the Taliban administration in Kabul. The Afghan Taliban insist they do not allow Afghan territory to be used for attacks against other countries.
Afghanistan condemned the latest strikes, accusing Pakistan of violating its sovereignty and causing civilian casualties. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid described the operation as an act of aggression, while Afghan officials said women and children were among those killed or wounded. Pakistan has not acknowledged those claims and says the operation targeted only militant infrastructure based on intelligence.
The latest operation follows months of growing military confrontation between the neighboring countries. Since February, both sides have exchanged airstrikes, artillery fire and retaliatory attacks that have left hundreds of people dead, according to multiple international news reports. Pakistan says the escalation is driven by cross-border terrorism, while Afghanistan argues Islamabad is using force inside Afghan territory without evidence that militant camps are operating there.
China attempted to ease tensions by hosting talks between Pakistani and Afghan officials in April. Both governments publicly agreed to avoid further escalation and pursue dialogue, but violence resumed within weeks. The collapse of those efforts has added to concerns about regional stability, particularly as border trade and diplomatic relations continue to deteriorate.
Several key questions remain unanswered. Pakistan has not released the identities of the 29 militants it says were killed, nor has it provided independent evidence confirming the strikes hit TTP facilities. No international organization has verified the casualty figures from either side. Afghan authorities have also not released a detailed accounting of the civilians they say were affected.
With both governments standing by sharply different versions of events, the latest operation appears to extend a conflict that has steadily intensified since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, leaving prospects for another round of diplomacy increasingly uncertain.
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