Pakistan Launches Cross-Border Strikes After Wave of Deadly Terror Attacks

Pakistani forces conducted military operations targeting militant camps along the Afghan border following a series of deadly attacks that killed soldiers and civilians. The strikes come after recent suicide bombings that Pakistan blames on militants operating from Afghan territory.

Pakistani military forces launched early morning strikes Sunday against militant strongholds positioned along the Afghanistan border, officials announced, following a deadly wave of terrorist attacks within Pakistan’s borders.

Government officials in Islamabad withheld specific location details of the military operations and did not elaborate on the scope of the strikes. Afghan authorities in Kabul have not yet responded to the reported attacks, while unverified social media posts indicate the operations took place within Afghan territory.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced via social media platform X before sunrise Sunday that Pakistani forces executed what he termed “intelligence-based, selective operations” targeting seven facilities operated by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, along with associated groups. Tarar noted that forces also struck a camp belonging to an Islamic State affiliate in the border region.

This marks the second time Pakistan has conducted such cross-border operations, with similar strikes launched deep into Afghanistan in October to eliminate militant positions.

“Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region,” Tarar stated, while emphasizing that protecting Pakistani citizens remains the government’s highest priority.

The military action follows a devastating suicide attack earlier this week when an explosive-laden vehicle, supported by armed militants, crashed into a security facility’s perimeter in Bajaur district within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border. The explosion brought down sections of the compound, resulting in the deaths of 11 military personnel and one child. Intelligence sources later identified the attacker as an Afghan citizen.

Just hours before Sunday’s border operations, another suicide bomber struck a security patrol in the neighboring Bannu district, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel. Following Saturday’s violence, Pakistan’s military leadership declared they would not “exercise any restraint” and promised continued operations against those responsible “irrespective of their location,” signaling escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

According to Tarar, Pakistan possesses “conclusive evidence” linking recent terrorist incidents, including a mosque bombing in Islamabad that claimed 31 lives earlier this month, to militants operating under direction from “Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”

Pakistani officials say they have repeatedly called on Afghanistan’s Taliban government to take concrete, verifiable measures preventing militant organizations from using Afghan soil as a launching pad for attacks against Pakistan, but claim no meaningful action has resulted.

Tarar appealed to the global community to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership to honor their Doha agreement commitments prohibiting the use of their territory for attacks against neighboring nations.

Pakistan has experienced an escalation in militant violence over recent years, with much of the bloodshed attributed to the TTP and banned Baloch separatist organizations. The TTP operates independently from but maintains close ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban, who regained control in 2021. Pakistani authorities accuse the TTP of maintaining bases inside Afghanistan, allegations both the militant group and Kabul’s government reject.

Diplomatic relations between the two neighboring nations have deteriorated since October, when fatal border confrontations resulted in dozens of casualties among soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. The violence erupted following explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials attributed to Pakistani involvement.

While a Qatar-brokered ceasefire has generally held, diplomatic talks in Istanbul failed to produce a formal resolution, leaving relations between the countries strained.