Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday said “precise and calibrated strikes” had killed 26 militants along Afghanistan’s border, as Pakistan targeted hideouts and safe havens of planners involved in recent terrorist incidents in the country.
In a statement on X, Tarar said the strikes responded to multiple attacks, including the terrorist attack on a Federal Constabulary post in Musa Dara on June 9; vehicle-borne suicide attacks on a military post in North Waziristan on June 2; and an attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9.
“Based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of camps and hideouts was carried out with precision and accuracy,” he wrote, claiming four targets of the Fitna al-Khwarij—the state’s descriptor of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan—were “completely destroyed.” He claimed the destroyed targets belonged to “Fitna al Khwarij Commander Aleem Khan Khushali and Commander Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel.”
Maintaining that Pakistan had strived for peace and stability in the region, the minister emphasized that the safety and security of citizens remains the top priority. “Our relentless counter terrorism campaign under Vision Azm e Istehkam (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” he added.
Pakistan has been in the midst of a terror resurgence, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021. Earlier this year, Islamabad launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, striking terrorist sites inside Afghanistan, after the interim Afghanistan government refused to take action against militants sheltering on its soil.
The neighboring states have engaged in several rounds of talks to restore peace, but have thus far failed to reach any agreement.