RismadarVoice Reporters, June 29, 2026
Pakistani security forces have launched a coordinated ground operation backed by precision airstrikes along the country’s border with Afghanistan, killing 29 suspected militants, officials said on Sunday.
The operation was carried out against what authorities described as militant hideouts and safe havens following a series of attacks targeting security personnel across Pakistan.
Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar said the military action was a direct response to the recent wave of militant violence that has claimed the lives of security officers in different parts of the country.
There was no immediate reaction from the Afghan government.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent years, with authorities blaming the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and affiliated armed groups for much of the violence.
The latest offensive came a day after heavily armed militants stormed the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest port city.
The attack left three soldiers dead before security forces repelled the assault, killing three attackers and arresting another suspect who, according to the military, is an Afghan national receiving treatment for injuries.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter faction linked to the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack.
Tarar said Sunday’s operation specifically targeted bases allegedly used by the Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan frontier.
Although the Pakistani Taliban operates independently from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban government, both groups maintain ideological and historical ties. The Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in 2021.
The latest military action is expected to further strain already fragile relations between Islamabad and Kabul.
It follows Pakistani airstrikes carried out less than three weeks ago against what Islamabad described as militant positions inside Afghanistan, ending a brief period of relative calm after months of cross-border hostilities.
Since February, both countries have exchanged military strikes, resulting in hundreds of casualties and worsening diplomatic tensions.
Afghanistan previously launched retaliatory attacks after Pakistan conducted air operations inside Afghan territory, leading to sustained clashes along the shared border.
Several rounds of internationally mediated negotiations have failed to secure a lasting ceasefire between the neighbouring countries.
China, which hosted talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in April, announced that both sides had agreed to avoid further escalation and pursue diplomatic solutions to the conflict.
Despite those commitments, cross-border violence has continued.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government of providing sanctuary to TTP fighters responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.
The Afghan authorities have consistently denied the allegations, insisting they do not allow their territory to be used for attacks against neighbouring countries.
