Pakistani forces conducted ground operations and airstrikes along the Afghanistan border late Sunday, resulting in the deaths of at least 36 civilians and injuring more than 160 others, according to Afghan officials. The strikes, which targeted alleged militant hideouts, have significantly escalated tensions between the two neighboring countries, with Afghanistan vowing retaliation.
Afghan officials described the Pakistani actions as a "cowardly act of aggression" and "an act of brutality." Hayatullah Mohajer Farahi, deputy minister for publications at Afghanistan's Ministry of Information and Culture, stated that Afghanistan would respond "in due time" and that "serious measures are taken at the right time."
According to Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for Afghanistan's Taliban government, Pakistani forces struck a home in Paktia's Chamkani district, killing an elderly man and a child. A subsequent strike in the same area as residents attempted rescue operations killed 28 villagers and wounded 158. In Paktika province's Giyan district, six people, primarily women and children, died when another home was hit. A civilian home in Kunar province was also struck, resulting in no human casualties but the deaths of livestock.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that the operations were in response to multiple militant attacks within Pakistan and that the strikes killed 29 "terrorists." Tarar shared videos on social media that he claimed showed projectiles hitting camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar. He asserted that Pakistan's counter-terrorism campaign would continue to eliminate "foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism."
Pakistan has used the term "Khawarij" to refer to militants, including the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and allied groups. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is identified as a breakaway faction of the TTP.
India has denied any involvement in the Pakistani operations, with its Foreign Ministry calling Pakistan's allegations "baseless" and urging Pakistan to "look inwards, take credible action against the terror infrastructure on its territory."
Militant attacks in Pakistan have increased in recent years, with authorities attributing most of the violence to the TTP and allied militant groups. The TTP is distinct from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban government that returned to power in 2021.
The Pakistani operation followed a militant attack on the paramilitary Rangers' regional headquarters in Karachi, which killed three soldiers. Security forces subsequently killed three attackers and apprehended an Afghan national.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.
This escalation marks a return to cross-border military actions after approximately a month of relative calm. In February, Pakistan initiated airstrikes into Afghan territory, prompting retaliatory strikes from Afghanistan. Hundreds have reportedly been killed in exchanges since February.
Previous rounds of diplomatic talks have not yielded a lasting ceasefire, and a meeting hosted by China in April concluded with an agreement for both nations not to escalate their conflict and to seek a resolution.
An uneasy calm has reportedly settled along the border following the latest Pakistani operations, with security forces remaining on high alert.