Key facts
- Pakistan conducted a ground operation and precision strikes along the Afghanistan border.
- 29 militants were killed, including a commander named Khan Farosh.
- The operation targeted hideouts of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij.
- Strikes destroyed three locations in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces.
- The action was a response to recent militant attacks, including one in Karachi.
Pakistan's security forces launched an intelligence-based ground operation and "calibrated strikes" along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, resulting in the deaths of 29 militants, officials announced Sunday. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated the operation was a direct response to a series of militant attacks across Pakistan, including a deadly assault on paramilitary Rangers headquarters in Karachi the previous day.
The operation, which took place in Bajaur district near the border, involved precise engagement that led to the killing of high-value commander Khan Farosh and three other fighters. Subsequently, Pakistan carried out precision strikes on terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij, groups Pakistan identifies with the Pakistani Taliban, in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces. These strikes destroyed three locations and killed 25 additional terrorists, according to Tarar. Large caches of weapons and ammunition were also reportedly destroyed.
Pakistan has intensified its actions along the border in recent years, accusing Afghanistan's ruling Taliban of harboring militants, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who are blamed for much of the violence. The Afghan Taliban government has denied these accusations. Pakistan emphasized its commitment to regional peace while asserting it would not compromise on its citizens' security.