ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s armed forces carried out precision airstrikes late Monday under “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq,” targeting what officials described as terrorism-supporting military installations of the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul and Nangarhar province, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced Tuesday.
The strikes mark a significant escalation in cross-border tensions between the neighboring countries, with both sides presenting sharply contrasting accounts of the operation’s impact.
Targets and Damage
According to Tarar, the operation successfully destroyed “technical support infrastructure and ammunition storage facilities at two locations in Kabul.” Writing on X, the minister emphasized that “visible secondary detonations after the strikes clearly indicate the presence of large ammunition depots.”
In Nangarhar province, four additional Afghan Taliban regime military sites were struck, with associated logistics, ammunition, and technical infrastructure destroyed, Tarar said.
The minister characterized the strikes as “precise” and limited to infrastructure used by the Afghan Taliban regime to support what Pakistan terms its “multiple terror proxies”—including Fitna Al Khawarij and Fitna Al Hindustan, designations Pakistani authorities use for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), respectively.
“False claims made by the propagandists Taliban regime cannot befool the Afghans and the world from their heinous actions supporting and sponsoring terrorism in the region,” Tarar added.
Conflicting Accounts
Afghan Taliban authorities in Kabul immediately rejected Pakistan’s version of events, claiming the strikes hit a drug treatment center and resulted in civilian casualties—a characterization Pakistani security sources dismissed as “ridiculous.”
Video footage circulating after the strikes showed tall flames and secondary explosions. A security source said this confirmed that a large stockpile of explosives had been targeted in the Afghan capital.
Operation Background
Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched last month following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.
The neighboring countries have been engaged in escalating hostilities along the frontier since then. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to earlier Pakistani air strikes targeting terrorist positions.
“Operations under Ghazab Lil Haq to safeguard Pakistani citizens against terrorism waged by Master Terror Proxy (Afghan Taliban) will continue until the desired objectives are fully achieved,” Tarar said.
Ground Operations
Separately, security sources said the army carried out operations in the Kurram sector, targeting key hideouts used by Afghan Taliban operatives and Fitna al-Khawarij elements. Several positions allegedly used for terrorist activities were struck.
The operation destroyed multiple Taliban posts, killing several Khawarij—the term used by authorities for terrorists linked to the TTP—while others fled, the sources added.
In the Bajaur sector, Pakistani forces conducted retaliatory actions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, targeting Afghan Taliban posts near the frontier. Security sources said the operation destroyed several Taliban positions, with the army also employing guided missiles during the strikes.
Broader Context
The latest escalation follows a series of tit-for-tat actions over the past year. Pakistan previously carried out air strikes targeting camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province inside Afghanistan after a wave of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.
Pakistani security sources said more than 80 terrorists were killed in those strikes. The strikes prompted attacks by Afghanistan along the border, leading to the latest round of open conflict.
Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, an allegation that Kabul has repeatedly denied.
Tensions also surged after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along Pakistan’s border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling. The exchanges caused casualties and infrastructure damage on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after border crossings were closed on October 12, 2025.
Regional Implications
The continued hostilities between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime raise concerns about broader regional stability. With both sides dug in on their positions and no diplomatic resolution in sight, the cycle of retaliation appears likely to continue, with civilian populations on both sides of the border bearing the brunt of the conflict.
International observers have called for restraint, but neither Islamabad nor Kabul has shown willingness to de-escalate as long as their core security concerns remain unaddressed.
