PESHAWAR: Security sources have confirmed that Pakistan has launched precision airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. These strikes resulted in the killing of more than 71 Khawarij fighters, including several key commanders.
Four of their most critical hideouts were destroyed, including a suicide vest manufacturing facility and their Umar Media Cell.
“This is not the first time that Pakistan has been forced to act decisively across the border,” said a senior security official. “Earlier, Pakistan used drones to target terror networks in Afghanistan and inflicted heavy casualties on them. The Afghan Taliban assured us at the time that no further attacks on Pakistan would come from Afghan soil. Unfortunately, their promises remain unfulfilled; they are known to violate agreements, including the Doha Agreement.”
The official further emphasized: “If the Afghan Taliban want to maintain constructive relations with Pakistan and China, they must act against these terrorists and honor their commitments. Pakistan will continue to attack Khawarij sanctuaries until this threat is eradicated.
Video and audio captured from the target locations reveal chaos among the militants, who were heard urging each other to flee while lamenting the lack of support from local communities. These communications also confirm that the strikes were surgically precise and spared civilians and the local population. “This operation sends a strong message to all enemies of Pakistan,” the security source added. “While we have avenged our fallen soldiers, the fight is not over. We will pursue these Khawarij to the last man, wherever they hide.”
Meanwhile, security sources told this correspondent that Afghan and Indian media accounts are using images of children who died in the 2023 Afghanistan earthquake to fake the casualties from last night’s precision strikes by Pakistani forces. Sources said the reality was that the strikes on the intended suicide training centers and Umar Media premises were accurate, which was hit by multiple sources of credible intelligence reports. Only terrorist sites were targeted, while the surrounding population, mosques and religious seminaries where these Kharjis were also known to be present were completely protected. He said that such propaganda campaigns against the Pakistan Army had never worked before and would never work in the future.
Sources have confirmed that four major centers of Fitna Al-Khawarij in Afghanistan have been destroyed. They include Sher Zaman alias Mukhlish Yar, Akhtar Muhammad alias Khalil, Izhar alias Hamza and Shoaib Cheema.
These centers not only served as safe havens for these Kharijis but were also of key importance for their administrative and operational activities.
AFP adds: Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s eastern border region have killed 46 civilians, the Taliban government said on Wednesday, while a Pakistani security official said the bombing targeted “terrorist hideouts”.
The strikes were the latest spike in hostilities on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with tensions escalating since the Taliban took power in 2021.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP that Pakistan bombed four areas in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province late on Tuesday.
A senior Pakistani security official said the attacks were on “terrorist hideouts” using jets and drones and killed at least 20 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants. “The arguments of Afghan officials who claim that civilians are being harmed are baseless and misleading,” he added on condition of anonymity. A statement from the Taliban’s defense ministry late on Tuesday condemned the attacks, calling them “barbaric” and “clear aggression”. “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, rather it regards the defense of its territory and sovereignty as its inalienable right,” the statement said, using the name of the Taliban government.
In a strike statement, the TTP alleged that Pakistan had “deliberately targeted refugee residences”. A Pakistani security official said the recent attack “was a significant trigger” for Tuesday’s attacks, “but not the only one.” “The interim Taliban regime has been repeatedly called upon to take action against the TTP, but their response has been lukewarm,” he said. “Such strikes will continue as necessary.”
