Web Desk: Pakistan carried out precision air and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Thursday, describing the operation as a response to a cross-border drone incursion launched from Afghan territory a day earlier.
Tarar said the strikes targeted sites that Pakistan linked to terrorist activity, including facilities used to launch and store drones. He said the operation was conducted under Pakistan’s stated right to defend its territory and was directed at what Islamabad described as military objectives.
According to Tarar, Pakistani forces struck what he described as terrorist hideouts and supporting infrastructure at 10 locations in areas controlled by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities.
The minister said the targeted facilities included locations used to store and launch drones that Pakistan believes were connected to attacks inside the country.
Pakistan’s announcement came after its air-defence systems detected and intercepted drones that entered Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan on Sept. 23. Pakistani security officials said eight drones were brought down before they could reach their intended targets.
Tarar said the latest operation was designed to disrupt the infrastructure behind such attacks rather than conduct indiscriminate strikes.
The Pakistani government has repeatedly accused terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan of using territory under Taliban control to plan and conduct attacks inside Pakistan.
Tarar said the sites hit in Thursday’s operation were connected to attacks against Pakistani civilians as well as the latest attempted drone incursion.
He also accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of failing to take what Islamabad considers credible and verifiable action against terrorist networks operating from Afghan territory. Afghan authorities have rejected Pakistan’s accusations and have previously condemned Pakistani military operations inside Afghanistan as violations of Afghan sovereignty.
The latest strikes come only days after Pakistan carried out another round of airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan.
On Sept. 21, Pakistan said its forces had killed 28 militants in strikes on three targets in Paktika and Kunar provinces. Afghan authorities and the United Nations, however, reported that three civilians were killed and four others injured in those strikes.
The renewed violence follows a series of militant attacks inside Pakistan and has further strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
Pakistan has maintained that it does not seek a wider confrontation but will respond to attacks it believes originate from Afghan territory. The Taliban government, meanwhile, has rejected accusations that it shelters Pakistani terrorists and has called for respect for Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
Tarar said Pakistan would continue taking measures to protect its territorial integrity and the lives and property of its citizens.
He called on the Afghan Taliban authorities to stop what Islamabad described as hostile activity and prevent Afghan territory from being used for attacks against Pakistan.
At the same time, he said Pakistan remained committed to regional peace, dialogue and constructive engagement.
The latest strikes, however, add another dangerous episode to an already escalating dispute between the two neighbours, with both sides facing growing pressure to prevent further cross-border violence.
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