Pakistan has carried out strikes on terrorist hideouts along its border with Afghanistan and killed 26 terrorists, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.“In the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan precise and calibrated strikes were carried out along Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas on hideouts and safe havens of masterminds and planners belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij, killing 26 India-sponsored khawarij,” the minister said in a post on X.“Based on credible intelligence, selective targeting of camps and hideouts was carried out with precision and accuracy,” Tarar said.

He elaborated that “four targets were completely destroyed, including a training centre, a hideout, and an ammunition cache and marakiz (centres) belonging to Fitna-al-Khawarij Commander Aleem Khan Khushali and Commander Akhtar Muhammad Jani Khel”. Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP).Tarar affirmed that Pakistan had “always strived for maintaining peace and stability in the region, but at the same time, the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority”.

“Our relentless counterterrorism campaign under vision ‘Azm-i-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,” Tarar stated.He noted that the strikes were carried out in the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan, including Tuesday’s attack on a Federal Constabulary (FC) post in Musa Dara in Peshawar.

Six FC personnel were martyred and four received injuries while responding to an attempt by terrorists to capture the post, which was thwarted by security forces. The forces killed eight terrorists in retaliatory action, sources said, adding that three personnel had been abducted by the attackers. Tarar also mentioned “vehicle-borne suicide attacks on a military post in North Waziristan” on June 2, which was foiled, and the May 9 suicide attack on a Bannu post that claimed the lives of 15 police personnel.Following that incident, Islamabad had issued a “strong demarche” to the Afghan chargé d’affaires.

The minister also mentioned an attack on a police station in Bannu on May 9. Two police personnel were martyred in the incident after law enforcers foiled a suicide attack on Fateh Khel police post.Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration since then to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded. For their part, the Afghan Taliban have denied the allegations and say militancy in Pakistan is an internal problem.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)