MT Desk: Pakistan on late Saturday night carried out intelligence-based strikes against terrorist camps inside Afghanistan, in a retributive response to a string of deadly suicide bombings, including an attack on an Imambargah in Islamabad and multiple blasts in Bajaur and Bannu during the holy month of Ramazan. The development marks a sharp escalation in tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, with the Afghan authorities summoning Pakistan`s ambassador and condemning what they termed a violation of their territorial integrity. Unlike the past, this time Pakistan was quick to confirm the airstrikes in Afghanistan after reports emerged of multiple explosions in several districts of the neighbouring country.

According to late-night official press release, Pakistan said it had "conclusive evidence" that the recent attacks were orchestrated by terrorists at the behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers . The statement said suicide bombings targeted an Imambargah in Islamabad, followed by one attack each in Bajaur and Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and another incident in Bannu on Saturday. The attacks were claimed by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna al Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, as well as the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP). Islamabad has increasingly used the term "Khwarij" to describe factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says are operating from the sanctuaries across the border.
"Despite repeated efforts by Pakistan to urge the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable measures to deny use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups and foreign proxies to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime failed to undertake any substantive action against them," the statement said. It added that while Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, "the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority".
"In this backdrop, Pakistan in a retributive response has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP at the Pakistan-Afghan border with precision and accuracy," the press release stated.
Officials said the strikes were "selective" and based on actionable intelligence linking the targeted sites to planners and facilitators of recent attacks inside Pakistan. They maintained that the operation was limited in scope and designed to dismantle infrastructure used to launch cross-border terrorism. The statement did not give any figures, but Express News, quoting its military sources reported that the seven TTP hideouts in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost were destroyed and more than 80 Khawarij terrorists were killed.
The report identified the destroyed terrorist hideouts as New Centre No 1 Nangarhar, New Centre No 2 Nangarhar, Khawarij Maulvi Abbas Centre, Khost, Khawarij Islam Centre, Nangarhar, Khawarij Ibrahim Centre, Nangarhar, Khawarij Mullah Rehbar Centre Paktika and Khawarij Mukhlis Yar Centre Paktika. The official statement reiterated Pakistan`s expectation that the interim Afghan government would fulfil its obligations and deny the use of its soil by militants targeting Pakistan. "The safety and security of people of Pakistan comes first and foremost," the statement emphasised.
It called on the international community to play a "positive and constructive role" by urging the Taliban regime to stand by its commitments under the Doha Agreement to prevent Afghan territory from being used against other countries.
The reference was to the 2020 agreement between the United States and the Afghan Taliban, under which the latter pledged that Afghan soil would not be used by groups or individuals to threaten the security of other states.