ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it carried out “intelligence-based selective targeting” against militant camps near the Afghan border after a series of attacks inside the country, while the Afghan Taliban accused Pakistani forces of killing civilians in the assault.
Pakistan has faced a renewed surge in militant violence in recent months, particularly in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and two major attacks in the capital, Islamabad. Authorities say many of the attacks have been carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups that Islamabad alleges are operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Kabul denies this.
According to Pakistan’s information ministry, recent incidents included a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, separate attacks in Bajaur and Bannu, and another recent incident in Bannu during the holy month of Ramadan, which started earlier this week. The government said it had “conclusive evidence” linking the attacks to militants directed by leadership based in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan in a retributive response, has carried out intelligence based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban ... and its affiliates and ISKP [Daesh] at the border region of Pakistan Afghan border with precision and accuracy,” the Pakistani information ministry said in a statement on Feb. 21.
The statement, which did not specify the exact nature of the attacks, said it had hit camps of the “Fitna al Khwarij (FAK),” a term Pakistani authorities use for the TTP, as well as the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the regional affiliate of the Daesh group.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to take action against militants it says are using Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan. The latest statement said Kabul had “failed to undertake any substantive action” despite prior requests.
In an X post, Kabul government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces had violated Afghan territory.
“Pakistani special military circles have once again trespassed into Afghan territory,” Mujahid said. “Last night, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, martyring and wounding dozens of people, including women and children.”
The Afghan Taliban’s claims of civilian casualties could not be independently verified. Pakistan did not immediately comment on the allegation that civilians had been killed in the strikes.
Separately, Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defense said the attack was in breach of international law and Islamic principles.
“In this regard, the Ministry of National Defense affirms that safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty and the security of its people are both its religious obligations and national duties, and warns that an appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time, Inshallah,” the ministry wrote on social media platform X.
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have escalated since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Pakistan says cross-border militant attacks have increased since then and has accused the Taliban of failing to honor commitments under the 2020 Doha Agreement to prevent Afghan soil from being used for attacks against other countries. The Taliban deny allowing such activity and have previously rejected similar accusations.
Saturday’s exchange of accusations marks one of the most direct confrontations between the two neighbors in recent months and risks further straining already fragile ties along the volatile border.
