Pakistan says struck militant hideouts after attacks, Afghanistan claims 13 civilians killed
Pakistan on Wednesday confirmed it carried out "precise and calibrated" strikes against militant hideouts along the Afghanistan border after a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan, including an assault that killed six paramilitary personnel near Peshawar. This is Islamabad's first official acknowledgment of the strikes after Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of launching overnight attacks in the eastern provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika. Afghan officials said the strikes killed 13 civilians, including 11 children, one woman and one elderly man.
In a statement, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation was launched following several recent attacks, including a June 9 assault on a Federal Constabulary paramilitary post in Musa Dara, a suicide attack on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2, and a vehicle-borne suicide bombing targeting a police station in Bannu on May 9. All attacks occurred in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
“In the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan ... precise and calibrated strikes were carried out along Pakistan Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens of masterminds and planners belonging to Fitna Al Khwarij, killing twenty six Indian sponsored khwarijs,” Tarar said, using the term Pakistan employs for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied militant groups.
Tarar said the operation was based on “credible intelligence” and involved selective targeting of militant camps and hideouts. “Four targets were completely destroyed including a training center, a hideout and an ammunition cache and Marakiz belonging to Fitna Al Khwarij Commander Aleem Khan Khushali and Commander Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel,” he added. Pakistan's statement did not address Afghan allegations of civilian casualties.
The latest strikes follow an attack claimed by the TTP on a checkpoint in Hassan Khel on the outskirts of Peshawar this week. Security officials said dozens of militants armed with firearms, grenades, and mortar shells stormed the post, killing six members of the Federal Constabulary, a national paramilitary force operating primarily in northwestern Pakistan, and abducting eight others.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants to use Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations and says Islamabad is violating Afghan sovereignty through cross-border military operations.
The latest escalation comes amid months of tensions between the neighboring countries over militant violence and cross-border security. Relations deteriorated sharply in October last year after Pakistani strikes on militant targets in Afghanistan triggered deadly border clashes and the closure of key crossings. A ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey later helped halt the fighting, but tensions resurfaced in February and have remained high amid recurring militant attacks and competing accusations from both sides.
