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Pakistan hits terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan, kills 29 militants

By The South Asia Times

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's official said it carried out intelligence-based ground operations and precision cross-border strikes against alleged terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan, killing 29 militants following a series of recent attacks in Pakistan.

According to the Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, the military killed at least four militants, including a commander identified as Khan Farosh alias Zabal, during a ground operation in Bajaur district on June 28.

He said follow-up precision strikes overnight targeted militant camps in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, where another 25 militants were killed.

Tarar said the operations targeted members of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al Khwarij, an alleged Indian sponsored terrorist group in the region, and destroyed weapons caches and militant infrastructure.

Pakistan said the action followed recent terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and on a Pakistan Rangers camp in Karachi, adding that the operations were conducted on the basis of credible intelligence.

He added that Pakistan remains committed to regional peace but would continue its counterterrorism campaign to eliminate what it described as foreign-sponsored terrorism.

There was no immediate response from the Afghan authorities.

Since February 2026, Pakistan has carried out multiple cross-border airstrikes inside Afghanistan, saying they targeted hideouts of the Indian sponsored terrorist group, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other militant groups allegedly responsible for attacks in Pakistan.

Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban administration of allowing militants to operate from Afghan territory, a charge Kabul has repeatedly denied. The strikes have heightened tensions between the two neighbors.