Pakistan launched a series of airstrikes and ground operations overnight in eastern Afghanistan to strike militant hideouts believed to be responsible for the deadly weekend attack on a Rangers paramilitary headquarters in Karachi, it said Monday. However, Afghan authorities alleged Islamabad was responsible for killing dozens of civilians and the invasion breaches its sovereignty.
During the cross-border operation, security forces killed 25 militants, mostly belonging to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said. The offensive came in response to an attack against the Rangers’ regional headquarters in Karachi, which took place Saturday, when three paramilitary officers were killed after gunmen stormed the building after an explosion, he said.
Pakistani troops initially carried out ground operations on the border before launching precision airstrikes on three targets in the eastern provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar in Afghanistan, Tarar said.
“Precision strikes” were made on “three targets” in Paktia, Paktika and Kunar to destroy “safe havens” and “militant camps” used by fighters in the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Tarar said.
The Taliban government in Kabul has denied Pakistan’s version of the operation, claiming the raids largely targeted civilian areas. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid called the attacks a “cowardly act of aggression,” and reiterated Afghanistan’s stance that its soil is not being used for harboring militants attacking neighbouring countries.
The latest military operation is an additional step towards escalation of already tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The relations have been strained since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021 and both countries have blamed each other for the cross-border militancy.
Pakistan has accused militant groups behind attacks inside its borders were based in Afghanistan, which Kabul has always denied. Instead, Afghan officials have blamed Pakistan for the civilian casualties due to its repeated incursions across the border.
Weeks of heavy fighting broke out between the two countries in February and a ceasefire was agreed in March. Yet, violence has continued on the border, despite the truce. Pakistani strikes earlier this month killed 13 people, Afghanistan officials said, and the U.N. has reported that previous military operations have displaced tens of thousands of civilians and led to considerable devastation.
So far, international efforts, led by countries such as China, have been unsuccessful in finding a long-term solution to the problem between the neighbours. Since renewed fighting broke out at the border last October, border crossings have been mostly closed, hampering trade and travel and adding to the tensions between the two countries.
