Air strikes carried out in Afghanistan border region, information ministry says

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan carried out what it described as “calibrated air strikes” against militant camps and hideouts in the border region with Afghanistan, destroying three targets and killing 28 militants, including several suicide bombers, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on Monday.

The statement released on X further said that nine members of what it describes as ‘Fitna Al Khwarij’, which it alleged was an Indian proxy, were killed during the ground operation, while several others were injured, bringing the reported total number of militants killed in the ground operation and subsequent air strikes to 37.

The ministry said the strikes were based on “credible intelligence” and targeted hideouts belonging to Fitna Al Khwarij and affiliated groups. It said one of the destroyed targets was a facility used for training suicide bombers, while large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the camps and hideouts were also destroyed.

The strikes followed an intelligence-based ground operation conducted by security forces on September 20 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kohat and Hangu districts, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile Afghanistan’s Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on Monday accused Pakistan of shelling civilian areas in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces, claiming that three civilians were killed and four others injured in the attacks.

In a post on X, Mujahid said a woman and two men were killed and two women and two men wounded in Kunar, describing the alleged strikes as “aggression” and condemning them. He said Afghanistan would respond with what he called an “appropriate retaliation”, without providing further details.

Pakistan cites threat from Afghanistan

The ministry said the operations came after a series of recent terrorist attacks against civilians in KP, with most recent being the Kohat blast on September 18.

It said Pakistan had consistently sought peace and stability in the region but maintained that the safety and security of its citizens remained its “foremost priority”.

The ministry described Afghanistan’s continued role as a base for militant activity as a matter of “grave concern”, saying the threat to Pakistan emanated from Afghan territory.

It said the latest action had specifically targeted militant hubs and that maximum precautions were taken to prevent civilian casualties and collateral damage.

Counterterrorism campaign to continue

The ministry said Pakistan’s counterterrorism campaign, Ghazab lil Haq, being conducted under the broader Azm-e-Istehkam framework, would continue at full pace.

It said security forces and law-enforcement agencies would continue operations against what it described as foreign-sponsored and foreign-supported terrorism in the country.