Pakistan launches cross-border strikes into Afghanistan after series of suicide bombings

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information says its military launched strikes along the border with Afghanistan, targeting hideouts of militants believed to be behind recent attacks across the country.

In a statement published on social media platform X on Sunday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the armed forces carried out “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistan Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and its affiliates.

The ministry said it had “conclusive evidence” that recent attacks in Islamabad, as well as in the northwestern Bajaur and Bannu districts, were carried out by fighters “on behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”

It added that Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban government to act against armed groups using Afghan territory for attacks, but Kabul has yet to take “any substantive action.”

“Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region,” the statement said, “but the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remains our top priority.”

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The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense condemned the strikes in a statement on Sunday, saying they “hit a religious school and residential homes” in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, “resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, including women and children.”

“We hold the Pakistani military responsible for targeting civilians and religious sites. We will respond to these attacks in due course with a measured and appropriate response,” the statement added.

The strikes followed a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Hours before the air raids, a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.

On Monday, a suicide attacker, supported by gunmen, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security post in nearby Bajaur, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan national.

Earlier, on February 6, a suicide bomber detonated explosives during noon prayers at the Khadija Tul Kubra mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area, killing at least 31 worshippers and wounding 170 others.

Daesh claimed responsibility for that attack. At the time, the Pakistani military said the “planning, training, and indoctrination for the attack took place in Afghanistan.”

The recent violence threatens a fragile ceasefire between the two neighbors, negotiated after deadly border clashes in October last year that left dozens of soldiers, civilians, and suspected fighters dead.

Pakistan has experienced a surge in attacks in recent years, which it attributes to the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. Islamabad says the TTP operates from inside Afghanistan, a charge the group denies.

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