Pakistan says 26 militants killed in strikes along Afghan border

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan carried out strikes on militant hideouts near the border with Afghanistan and killed 26 militants, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Tarar said the action followed recent militant attacks inside Pakistan. He said:

"In the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan … precise and calibrated strikes were carried out along Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens of masterminds and planners belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij, killing 26 India-sponsored khawarij"

The announcement came a day after an attack on a post in Peshawar’s Hassan Khel area. Six Federal Constabulary personnel were martyred and four others were injured when militants attempted to seize the post. The attempt was repelled, and eight militants were killed in the retaliatory response. Three personnel were abducted by the attackers.

Last month, a suicide attack in Bannu killed 15 police personnel. After that incident, the Foreign Office said the Afghan chargé d’affaires had been summoned and handed a strong demarche. Islamabad has since repeatedly called on the Afghan Taliban administration to dismantle militant sanctuaries on Afghan territory, especially those linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, but officials say those requests have not been acted upon.

The Afghan Taliban have rejected Pakistan’s allegations and maintain that militancy inside Pakistan is an internal matter. In February, Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq after what it described as unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban from across the border. Pakistan has said the operation targeted militant infrastructure, including ammunition and equipment storage facilities, and has also rejected Afghan claims that civilian sites were hit.

The operation was briefly paused in March during Eidul Fitr. China has meanwhile been trying to ease tensions between Islamabad and Kabul. After hosting the first meeting between the two sides in Urumqi, Xinjiang, in April to help reduce friction, Beijing plans to convene a second round.

Hostilities had eased after the Urumqi meeting until Wednesday’s strikes. The Foreign Office has also said that improvement in relations with Afghanistan depends on credible counter-terrorism assurances from Kabul, particularly a commitment that Afghan soil will not be used for attacks against Pakistan.