Pakistan claims to have killed 70 militants during Afghanistan border strike

Pakistan’s military launched strikes along the border with Afghanistan early on Sunday, claiming to have killed at least 70 militants in what it described as targeted operations against hideouts of Pakistani militants responsible for recent attacks within the country. However, Kabul swiftly rejected these claims, reporting civilian casualties.

Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s deputy interior minister, stated in an interview with Geo News that at least 70 militants had been killed, though he offered no immediate evidence. Pakistan’s state-run media later revised this figure upwards to 80 fatalities.

In stark contrast, the Afghan Defence Ministry issued a statement asserting that "various civilian areas" in the eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika had been hit, including a religious madrassa and multiple homes. The ministry condemned the strikes as a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty. Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X that the attacks "killed and wounded dozens, including women and children," dismissing Pakistan’s claim of 70 militant deaths as "inaccurate." Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz, the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar, reported 18 people killed and several wounded.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to formally protest the strikes. In a statement, the ministry declared that protecting Afghanistan’s territory is the Islamic Emirate’s "Sharia responsibility" and warned that Pakistan would be held accountable for the consequences of such actions.

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On Sunday, villagers in Nangarhar were seen clearing rubble, while mourners prepared for funerals. Habib Ullah, a local tribal elder, insisted that those killed were not militants. "They were poor people who suffered greatly. Those killed were neither (the) Taliban, nor military personnel, nor members of the former government. They lived simple village lives," he told The Associated Press.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated on X that the military conducted "intelligence-based, selective operations" against seven camps belonging to the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and its affiliates, adding that an affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted. Mr Tarar affirmed that Pakistan "has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region," but underscored that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a paramount priority.

Militant violence has seen a significant surge in Pakistan in recent years, with much of it attributed to the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP, while separate, is closely allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from within Afghanistan, a charge both the group and Kabul deny.

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The Pakistani strikes followed a suicide bombing just hours earlier, which targeted a security convoy in the border district of Bannu in Pakistan’s northwest, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel. Pakistan’s military had warned after the attack that it would not "exercise any restraint" and would press on with operations against those responsible. Last week, another suicide bomber, supported by gunmen, rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security post in Bajaur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Pakistani authorities later identified the attacker as an Afghan national.

Mr Tarar asserted that Pakistan possessed "conclusive evidence" that recent attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed 31 worshippers earlier this month, were carried out by militants acting on the "behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers." He claimed Pakistan had repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan, but alleged that no substantive action had been taken. Mr Tarar also called on the international community to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to uphold their commitments under the Doha agreement not to allow their soil to be used against other countries.

In Islamabad, security analyst Abdullah Khan suggested that the Pakistani strikes indicate that Qatari, Turkish, and even Saudi-led mediations have failed to resolve tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. "These strikes are likely to further escalate the situation," he warned.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire between the two countries was established after deadly border clashes in October, which resulted in dozens of casualties among soldiers, civilians, and suspected militants. That violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to conduct strikes deep inside Afghanistan targeting militant hideouts. While the truce between Islamabad and Kabul has largely held, several rounds of talks in Istanbul in November failed to yield a formal agreement, leaving relations strained.