Web Desk: Pakistan carried out targeted cross-border strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier following a series of deadly militant attacks, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday, adding that security forces killed 26 terrorists described as “Indian-sponsored khwarij.”
The announcement came after recent assaults on security installations, including an attack on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, a vehicle-borne suicide bombing at a military post in North Waziristan on June 2, and a similar strike on a police station in Bannu on May 9.
Authorities said the operations were based on actionable intelligence and focused on dismantling terrorist infrastructure.
Tarar said Pakistani forces launched what he described as precise and measured strikes against camps and sanctuaries used by fighters belonging to “Fitna Al Khwarij,” a term the government uses for certain terrorists factions.
According to the minister, four locations were destroyed in the operation, including a training facility, a hideout, an ammunition storage site and command centers linked to commanders Aleem Khan Khushali and Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel.
He said the strikes were carefully planned to eliminate individuals identified as masterminds and planners of recent attacks.
The military has not released independent details of the operation, and there was no immediate comment from Afghan authorities.
Government vows sustained campaign
Tarar said Islamabad remains committed to regional peace but stressed that protecting citizens remains the state’s foremost responsibility.
He added that Pakistan’s counterterrorism drive, operating under the “Azm-e-Istehkam” framework approved by the Federal Apex Committee under the National Action Plan, would continue with full intensity.
Security forces and law enforcement agencies would press ahead with efforts to dismantle what the minister described as foreign-backed militant networks operating against Pakistan, he said.
The latest developments signal a further escalation in cross-border tensions at a time when Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Read more: Pakistan targets terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan
