Islamabad claims it destroyed militant hideouts in three Afghan provinces after four Pakistani soldiers were killed in a Karachi terror strike; Taliban alleges civilians were among the casualties.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated sharply after Islamabad launched a cross-border ground operation, followed by what it described as “calibrated strikes” on militant hideouts inside Afghanistan, claiming to have killed 29 militants.

The operation came less than 24 hours after a deadly terrorist attack on a Pakistan Rangers facility in Karachi left four security personnel dead and renewed Islamabad’s accusations that anti-Pakistan militants continue to operate from Afghan soil.

While Pakistan has maintained that the strikes targeted terrorist infrastructure, Afghanistan’s Taliban government has accused Islamabad of attacking civilian areas.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the operation as a “cowardly act of aggression” and claimed that dozens of civilians were either killed or injured in the strikes in eastern Afghanistan.

The conflicting claims have once again highlighted the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the two neighbouring countries, despite both being governed by governments that once shared ideological and strategic ties.

Karachi Attack Triggered Swift Military Response

Saturday night’s terror attack in Karachi appears to have been the immediate trigger for Pakistan’s cross-border operation.

According to Pakistani authorities, an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into a compound belonging to the Sindh Rangers, Pakistan’s paramilitary force, at around 8.30 pm.

The powerful blast was followed by an armed assault in which heavily armed terrorists stormed the Rangers facility, opened indiscriminate fire and hurled hand grenades, causing multiple explosions inside the complex.

Security forces immediately sealed off the area and launched a large-scale counter-operation.

For nearly 90 minutes, Rangers personnel, assisted by Special Security Unit (SSU) commandos and the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF), engaged the attackers in a fierce gun battle.

The encounter ended with six terrorists killed, one attacker captured alive in an injured condition and four Rangers personnel losing their lives.

Investigators later identified the captured militant as an Afghan national.

Responsibility for the Karachi attack was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistan Taliban.

Pakistan Strikes Back

Within hours of the Karachi attack, Pakistan launched what officials described as a targeted military operation across the Afghan border.

According to Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, security forces destroyed three major militant targets located in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces.

Islamabad claimed that 29 militants belonging to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar were killed during the operation.

Pakistani officials described the strikes as precise and intelligence-based, aimed at dismantling militant safe havens allegedly used to launch attacks inside Pakistan.

Taliban Rejects Pakistan’s Claims

Afghanistan’s Taliban government has strongly rejected Pakistan’s version of events.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of carrying out indiscriminate attacks inside Afghan territory.

He alleged that the strikes resulted in significant civilian casualties, with dozens reportedly killed or wounded.

Calling the operation a “cowardly act of aggression”, Mujahid warned that such attacks would further strain already fragile relations between Kabul and Islamabad.

Pakistan has not commented on the Taliban’s allegations of civilian casualties.

Digital Battlefield Beyond the Border

The latest operation is part of Pakistan’s increasingly aggressive military campaign against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing TTP fighters to operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021.

The Afghan Taliban has consistently denied those allegations, insisting that Afghan territory is not being used to launch attacks against neighbouring countries.

However, Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant violence over the past three years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Islamabad argues that many of these attacks are planned and coordinated from across the Afghan border.

A Conflict That Continues to Escalate

Sunday’s operation marks the latest chapter in the deteriorating security relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Less than three weeks ago, Pakistan had launched airstrikes targeting what it described as terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan.

Those strikes had also drawn strong condemnation from Kabul.

The latest ground operation indicates that Pakistan is increasingly willing to pursue militants beyond its borders despite repeated diplomatic protests from the Taliban government.

Whether Sunday’s strikes weaken militant networks or trigger another cycle of retaliation remains uncertain.

What is clear, however, is that the already volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border has once again become one of South Asia’s most dangerous flashpoints.

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