Pakistan said Monday that it targeted militant hideouts inside Afghanistan following multiple "terrorist" incidents on its soil, as Kabul claimed the new strikes killed dozens of civilians.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, in a late-night post on US social media platform X, said a "well planned" intelligence-based ground operation was carried out by security forces along the Pakistan-Afghan border, followed by calibrated strikes in the border region against hideouts and "safe havens" of terrorists, killing at least 29 militants.
The strikes came after the storming of a security facility on Saturday by heavily-armed militants in the southern port city of Karachi, which resulted in the killing of three paramilitary troops and as many attackers. One attacker was captured injured.
Jamaat ul Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the brazen attack.
Security forces conducted an intelligence-based ground operation Sunday against a group of terrorists near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the Bajaur district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
As a result of "precise and skillful" engagement, high-value militant commander Khan Farosh, aka Zabal, along with three terrorists belonging to Jamaat ul Ahrar, were killed, while several others were injured, according to Tarar.
"Based on credible intelligence, three targets in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces were also destroyed during "precision strikes," killing 25 "terrorists," he claimed.
Large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the hideouts were also destroyed, he 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," Tarar added.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Afghan government, rejected Islamabad's claim, saying the airstrikes killed dozens of civilians.
"Last night, the Pakistani military once again carried out airstrikes on civilian areas in the Gayan District of Paktika Province, Tsamkani District of Paktia Province, and the Manogai District of Kunar Province, Afghanistan," Mujahid wrote on X.
The attacks, he added, resulted in the deaths and injuries to "dozens of civilians, including women and children."
"We strongly condemn this cowardly act of aggression and consider it a crime and an act of brutality,” he added.
Relations between the two neighbors have been strained following multiple militant attacks in Pakistan in recent years, which have led to several border clashes.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of providing its soil to the militants. Afghanistan denies the allegation.
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