Pakistan Launches Cross-Border Strikes, Kills 29 Fighters Near Afghanistan

Pakistani security forces launched a major cross-border operation on Sunday, striking targets inside Afghanistan and killing 29 fighters, according to Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. The operation came one day after a brazen attack on the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi left three soldiers dead.

Coordinated Ground and Air Assault

Tarar announced via social media that Pakistani forces targeted three sites in the eastern Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar. "Three targets in Paktia, Paktika and Kunar were destroyed during precision strikes," he wrote on X. The combined operation destroyed hideouts and safe havens of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Kabul offered no immediate response, maintaining its habitual denial that Afghan soil is used to plan attacks against Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban, which has governed Afghanistan since 2021, maintains an alliance with the TTP despite their separate organisational structures.

The Karachi Attack

The provocation that preceded Sunday's operation occurred on Saturday night, when fighters armed with guns and explosives stormed the Pakistan Rangers' provincial headquarters in Karachi, the country's largest city and financial hub. Three soldiers were killed in the assault. Pakistani security forces killed three of the attackers and captured a fourth, identified as an Afghan national. The militant group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Escalating Tensions on the Border

Sunday's operation marks a rapid escalation following a period of relative calm. Less than three weeks earlier, Pakistan had already conducted air strikes on alleged TTP positions inside Afghanistan. Multiple rounds of internationally mediated peace talks, including a session hosted by China in April, have failed to produce a lasting ceasefire. Beijing said the two sides had agreed to avoid escalation — a commitment Sunday's events appeared to set aside.

Hundreds of people have been killed in cross-border fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after Pakistan hit targets inside Afghan territory. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering TTP fighters responsible for attacks on Pakistani soil — an accusation Kabul continues to deny.