Pakistan Launches Cross-Border Strikes in Afghanistan, Targeting TTP Militant Hideouts
Pakistan has launched a new wave of cross-border military action into Afghanistan, striking what it described as militant hideouts linked to the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said late Sunday on social media platform X that Pakistani forces first carried out a ground operation along the rugged Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, followed by precision strikes on militant bases and hideouts in the border region.
According to Tarar, three separate targets were destroyed in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar. He claimed that “several suspected terrorists” were killed in the operation, without providing a specific number.
The minister framed the offensive as a direct response to a spike in militant attacks inside Pakistan, most notably an incident on Saturday in the port city of Karachi that left three security personnel dead.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban administration, which maintains close ties with the TTP, did not immediately issue an official statement. However, Afghan broadcaster Tolo News reported that more than 30 people were killed and over 100 wounded in the airstrikes, citing local sources.
The exchange marks the latest escalation in a long-running cycle of cross-border hostilities between the two nuclear-armed neighbors. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of sheltering and supporting TTP fighters who stage attacks on Pakistani soil — an allegation the Afghan Taliban denies.
A temporary ceasefire between Islamabad and the TTP had briefly raised hopes for de-escalation, but Pakistan has characterized the situation as an “open war” since late February, signaling a firm shift toward more aggressive military response.
The strikes risk further inflaming tensions along the Durand Line, where both sides have traded fire since late last year. Analysts warn that continued cross-border operations could destabilize the fragile security landscape in the region and deepen the rift between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government.