Pakistan launches ground operation and strikes on Afghan border, killing 29 militants
Pakistani security forces conducted a ground assault and targeted strikes along the Afghanistan border, killing 29 militants, in response to recent attacks, officials said.
Pakistani security forces carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Sunday, followed by targeted strikes on militant hideouts, killing 29 fighters, according to officials. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X that the action was a response to a series of militant attacks across Pakistan. The operation focused on hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan) and allied groups, which the government says are responsible for a surge in attacks on police and security personnel.
The move follows a recent assault on the Rangers' regional headquarters in Karachi, where three soldiers were killed and three attackers were neutralised; a wounded assailant was identified as an Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for that attack.
The latest cross-border strikes come less than three weeks after Pakistan’s military launched airstrikes on alleged militant sites in Afghanistan, ending a brief period of relative calm. Both sides have exchanged fire since February, with hundreds killed in the ongoing tit-for-tat clashes. International mediation efforts, including talks hosted by China, have so far failed to produce a lasting ceasefire.
"The operation targets the hideouts and safe havens of the Pakistani Taliban," Tarar said.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul remain strained, as Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban-led government of sheltering militants, a charge the Afghan side denies.
