Pakistan strikes TTP ‘hideouts’ in Afghanistan; Kabul vows retaliation

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has conducted airstrikes at four locations in Afghanistan, on the camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as reported by Dawn . It appears that the strikes were carried out in eastern Afghanistan, which resulted in elimination of several suspected terrorists.

The news report quoted security officials as saying that the TTP camps were targeted in “the Murgha and Laman areas of Bernal district” of Afghanistan’s Paktika province. The airstrikes were launched after reports of the presence of terrorists including “Sher Zaman alias Mukhlis Yar, Commander Abu Hamza, Commander Akhtar Muhammad and the head of TTP’s media arm, Umar Media” surfaced.

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An independent news platform, The Khorasan Diary , also shared on X, formerly Twitter that “at least four explosions were heard at a Pakistani Taliban camp in the Barmal area of Paktika” on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.

AFGHANISTAN’S RESPONSE

The Afghanistan government has acknowledged the airstrikes. In a post on X, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense Spokesman Enayatullah Khwarizmi said that the bombing had targeted civilians including children. “The Pakistani side should know that such arbitrary measures are not a solution to any problem.” He added, “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, but rather considers the defense of its territory to be its inalienable right.”

According to Afghanistan’s news agency Khaama Press, the ministry of defense has also said that “Waziristan refugees” were targeted in the bombing.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

The airstrikes come on the heels of a meeting between Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq and Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqqi in Kabul on Tuesday.

A delegation of Pakistan’s political party Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F), led by Senator Ata ur Rehman, had also met with the Afghanistan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani on the same day. The delegation met with the minister on behalf of the JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman to condole the death of Taliban’s minister of refugees, Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani. He was killed along with four others in a suicide attack in Kabul on December 11.

Before this, on Monday, Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul Obaid Nizamani also held a meeting with Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob. Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq had also met with Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani one day earlier.

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Despite these meetings, the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained. Pakistan has been continuously demanded cooperation from the Afghan authorities in restraining the TTP operations from within Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegations, while the TTP led attacks on Pakistan’s soil have continued to increase.

Neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan have issued an official statement on the death toll in these latest airstrikes.