Pakistan Says Border Operation and Airstrikes Kill 29 Militants Along Afghan Frontier

Pakistan says its security forces have killed 29 militants during a coordinated ground operation and a series of targeted airstrikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, marking the latest escalation in deteriorating security relations between the neighboring countries.

According to Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, the operation was launched after a wave of militant attacks across the country, including a deadly assault on the headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers in the southern city of Karachi. The government described the mission as an “intelligence-based operation” aimed at dismantling militant hideouts and safe havens near the frontier.

Pakistani authorities said security forces first conducted a ground offensive against suspected militant positions before carrying out what they described as “calibrated strikes” on additional targets along the border. Officials said all 29 people killed were militants linked to armed groups operating from areas close to the Afghan frontier, though independent verification of the casualty figures has not been possible.

The military operation came less than 24 hours after militants attacked the provincial headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers in Karachi. The assault began when attackers rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the security compound before engaging troops in a gun battle.

Three Rangers personnel were killed and several others injured during the attack. Pakistani authorities said security forces killed three attackers and arrested another, while the militant group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction associated with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the assault.

Following the Karachi attack, Pakistani officials vowed a decisive response against militant groups, saying the latest border operation was part of that commitment.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban administration of allowing militant organizations, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks into Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban has consistently rejected those allegations, insisting it does not permit any group to use Afghanistan as a base for attacks against neighboring countries.

After Sunday’s strikes, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned Pakistan’s military action, saying the attacks caused civilian casualties. Afghan officials reported that at least 13 people; including 11 children, one woman, and one elderly man, were killed in the affected areas, a claim Pakistan has denied.

The latest operation is the newest chapter in months of growing military confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Since early 2026, both countries have exchanged airstrikes and cross-border attacks, with each side accusing the other of violating sovereignty and supporting armed groups. Diplomatic efforts, including mediation by China, have so far failed to produce a lasting reduction in violence.

Security analysts say Pakistan has increasingly adopted a strategy of conducting intelligence-led strikes against suspected militant infrastructure near the border, arguing that such operations are necessary to prevent further attacks inside the country.

Pakistan has experienced a significant rise in militant violence since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Many of the attacks have targeted military installations, police stations and security personnel, particularly in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Islamabad maintains that militant groups continue to exploit the porous border to plan and launch attacks, while the Afghan Taliban insists security issues inside Pakistan are an internal matter.

The latest military action is expected to further strain already fragile relations between Islamabad and Kabul, raising concerns among regional observers that continued retaliatory strikes could deepen instability along one of South Asia’s most volatile borders.

Although Pakistan has portrayed the operation as a successful counterterrorism mission, the competing claims over civilian casualties and territorial sovereignty suggest that tensions between the two neighbors remain far from resolved.