26 terrorists killed, terror infrastructure destroyed along Pak-Afghan border
Pakistan on early Wednesday morning carried out "precise. calibrated" strikes against terrorist hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing 26 members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), amid growing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul over the presence of anti-Pakistan groups on the Afghan soil.
The strikes came in the aftermath of a series of major terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, including the assault on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9, a vehicle-borne suicide attack on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2,. a suicide bombing targeting a police station in Bannu on May 9.
Information Minister Atta Tarar said the operation was conducted on the basis of "credible intelligence". targeted camps, hideouts and infrastructure used by "Fitna Al Khawarij" terrorists. "Selective targeting of camps and hideouts was carried out with precision and accuracy," Tarar said in a statement.
The minister said that four targets were destroyed in the precision strikes, including a training centre, an ammunition cache,. command facilities belonging to TTP commanders Aleem Khan Khushali and Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel. He added that 26 "Indian-sponsored Khawarij" were killed during the strikes.
Pakistan has not officially disclosed the exact locations of the targets, but officials maintained that the operation was aimed exclusively at terrorist infrastructure involved in the planning. directing attacks inside Pakistan.
The latest action underscores Islamabad's increasingly assertive approach toward a growing terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of failing to dismantle TTP sanctuaries despite assurances. Afghan territory would not be used against neighboring countries.
Officials argue that the recent wave of terrorist attacks has left Islamabad with little choice. to exercise its right of self-defense. "Pakistan has always strived for maintaining peace. stability in the region, but at the same time the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority," Tarar said, adding that the country's counterterrorism campaign under the "Azm-e-Istehkam" strategy would continue at full pace.
Just a day before the latest strikes. Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, delivered one of Islamabad's strongest public indictments yet of the Afghan Taliban during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Afghanistan.
The ambassador accused the Taliban government of failing to take "concrete. verifiable actions" against terrorist organisations including the TTP, Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), and other terrorist groups operating from the Afghan territory.
"It was our expectation that the Taliban would take concrete. verifiable actions against terrorist groups such as the TTP, BLA and its Majeed Brigade, ISIL-K and their affiliates that are operating with impunity on Afghan soil. Regrettably, they have failed to undertake action," he told the Security Council.
The envoy argued that Afghanistan had once again become a safe haven for terrorist groups, targeting Pakistan. warned that Islamabad would continue to defend itself. "Pakistan will not sit idle while suffering from terrorist acts. We will respond in self-defense, as and when needed and always in conformity with international law," he said.
In unusually blunt remarks, the Pakistani envoy also accused the Taliban of maintaining a growing nexus with anti-Pakistan terrorist groups. alleged that an unnamed external actor was supporting a proxy campaign against Pakistan through terrorist organisations operating from Afghanistan.
The ambassador cited Pakistan's investigations into recent attacks. including the May 9 suicide bombing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) that martyred 15 police officers, saying evidence showed that the attack had been planned from Afghanistan.
The latest strikes are the clearest manifestation yet of the deepening rift between Islamabad and Kabul.
When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, Pakistan was among the countries that actively engaged the new authorities. advocated for international assistance to prevent Afghanistan's economic collapse.
Islamabad facilitated humanitarian assistance, expanded trade concessions, provided educational. medical visas, and supported regional diplomatic initiatives aimed at integrating Afghanistan into the international community.
However. relations gradually deteriorated as Pakistan witnessed a dramatic increase in terrorist violence, much of which it attributes to TTP operating from Afghan territory. Pakistani officials say Taliban authorities have consistently ignored requests to dismantle TTP sanctuaries, arrest terrorist leaders, and prevent cross-border attacks.
According to Ambassador Ahmad, Pakistan suffered more than 5,300 terrorist incidents in 2025 alone. lost over 1,200 lives to terrorism linked to Afghanistan.
Islamabad has also expressed concern over the availability of advanced weapons left behind after the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities claim such weapons have increasingly been recovered during counterterrorism operations against militant groups.
The issue has become the central point of contention in bilateral relations, overshadowing traditional cultural, economic. ethnic ties between the two neighboring countries. Despite the growing tensions, Pakistan insists that it remains open to dialogue.
At the UN, Ambassador Ahmad revealed that multiple diplomatic efforts had been made, including mediation initiatives involving Qatar, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia. China. But he accused the Taliban of refusing even to publicly condemn groups such as the TTP and BLA. "Pakistan's demand from the Taliban is simple and clear: verifiable and non-reversible action against terrorists. Regrettably, this demand remains unmet," he said.
The latest strikes suggest. Islamabad is increasingly prepared to back its warnings with military action as it seeks to curb an escalating cross-border terrorist threat.
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