Pakistan carries out 'calibrated strikes' near Afghanistan border, 29 militants killed

Pakistan on Sunday carried out an intelligence-based ground operation and ‘calibrated strikes’ on terrorist hideouts and safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing 29 militants, news agency AP reported.The operation came a day after militants armed with guns and explosives attacked a Sindh Rangers headquarters in Karachi, killing security personnel. Pakistan said the latest action was launched in response to a series of militant attacks across the country.In a post on X, Pakistan’s information minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation targeted hideouts of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij, the term Islamabad uses for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).According to Tarar, security forces first carried out an intelligence-based ground operation in Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. He said four militants, including a “high-value” commander identified as Khan Farosh, were killed during the operation.Pakistan then conducted what it described as “calibrated strikes” on three militant targets in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. Tarar said the strikes destroyed terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij, killing 25 more militants. Large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the sites were also destroyed, he added.The operation follows Saturday night’s attack on the Sindh Rangers’ regional headquarters in Karachi. According to Pakistani authorities, militants rammed a vehicle through the compound’s main gate before opening fire and throwing grenades. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested another militant, whom the military identified as an injured Afghan national.Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.Tarar said, “Pakistan has always strived for maintaining peace and stability in the region, but at the same time shall not compromise on the safety and security of our citizens, which remains our top priority.”Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant attacks targeting security forces in recent years. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch cross-border attacks, an allegation Kabul has consistently denied.Pakistan has carried out several cross-border strikes since last year, saying it was targeting TTP and allied militant groups operating from bases inside Afghanistan.There was no immediate response from Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.(with inputs from agencies)