Pakistani army responds strongly to unprovoked Afghan aggression along the border

Clashes erupted along the Pak-Afghan border after Afghan forces opened unprovoked fire at several locations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, provoking a swift and forceful response from the Pakistani army, which destroyed several Afghan posts and killed dozens of Afghan soldiers and terrorists, reports said on Saturday. security sources.

The coordinated assault began in several key areas including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baramcha in Balochistan. According to security sources, the firing was aimed at facilitating the illegal entry of Khwarij – the state term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – into Pakistani territory.

“The Pakistani army reacted immediately and decisively,” security sources said. “The counter-offensive effectively targeted and destroyed several Afghan posts on the border. Dozens of Afghan and Khwarij soldiers were killed in retaliatory fire.”

Sources said that following the retaliatory strikes, several Taliban fighters abandoned their positions and fled, leaving behind the bodies of their soldiers. “The bodies are scattered and the posts were deserted in panic,” security sources confirmed.

The cross-border aggression came at a diplomatically sensitive time, when Afghanistan’s foreign minister is currently on an official visit to India – a move that has sparked serious concerns in Islamabad.

Security sources say the timing and coordination of the attack – coinciding with the reported terrorist movement along the border – raises serious questions about the role of Afghan forces in facilitating cross-border militancy.

On Saturday evening, retaliatory operations by the Pakistani army would continue in some areas, with troops on alert along the western border.

Afghan Taliban call for ceasefire

Following Pakistan’s timely response, the Taliban-led Afghan Defense Ministry announced it would cease its actions and urged Islamabad to avoid further escalation.

In a statement, the ministry said: “We will now stop our retaliatory actions against Pakistan and we hope that Pakistan will not retaliate. »

Naqvi warns Kabul against reprisals

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi strongly condemned what he described as “unprovoked firing” by Afghan forces on civilian-populated areas inside Pakistan, calling the attacks a blatant violation of international law.

“Firing on civilian populations constitutes a blatant violation of international law,” Naqvi said in a statement, praising Pakistan’s armed forces for what he called an immediate and effective response.
“Pakistan’s courageous forces have demonstrated, through a swift and forceful response, that no provocation will be tolerated,” he added.

The interior minister said Pakistani security forces remained on alert and responded appropriately to any aggression. “Our forces are on alert and Afghanistan is being answered stone for stone,” he noted, using a local idiom to emphasize the importance of a tough countermeasure.

Naqvi also hinted at outside involvement behind the latest hostilities. “The pattern of fire and blood we are witnessing in Afghanistan has links to our eternal enemies,” he said, without naming any country.

Reaffirming public solidarity with the armed forces, Naqvi said the people of Pakistan were united behind the army. “The people of Pakistan stand with our brave armed forces like a wall of steel,” he said.

Learn more: Security forces eliminate 30 terrorists behind Orakzai attack

The minister further warned Kabul against what he termed “provocative actions”, saying Pakistan would not hesitate to respond strongly. “Afghanistan will receive a decisive response similar to that of India, so that it does not dare to cast a coveted glance at Pakistan,” he said.

KP faces growing wave of terror

KP has been gripped by a wave of extremism and terrorist violence, with terrorists infiltrating across the Afghan border to target both security forces and civilians.

On the night of October 10-11, heavily armed attackers attempted to enter the perimeter of the Dera Ismail Khan district police academy. Six police officers – including trainees – were martyred, while twelve others and one civilian were injured when security forces repelled what authorities called a “cowardly terrorist attack”.

A few days earlier, eleven soldiers, including two officers, were killed during an intelligence operation (IBO) in one of the hill districts of KP. Nineteen terrorists were reportedly killed during the same engagement.

Learn more: DG ISPR blames KP failures for rise in terrorism

In the aftermath, security forces launched a “retaliatory operation,” targeting militants linked to the Orakzai attack. According to military media, thirty terrorists involved in the incident were killed during the operation carried out earlier this week.

Army warns of growing involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorism

Addressing a press conference in Peshawar on Friday, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry of DG ISPR acknowledged the deteriorating security situation and surge in terrorist activities across the country.

He said Pakistan’s anti-terrorism campaign had intensified, with over 10,000 intelligence operations carried out in KP alone this year, resulting in the elimination of nearly 1,000 militants.

DG ISPR has warned that the growing involvement of Afghan nationals in terrorism is further complicating Pakistan’s security landscape. “Afghanistan is being used as a base to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan,” he said, urging the Taliban government to ensure its territory is not used against its neighbor.

Read also: Major Sibtain Haider martyred in DI Khan IBO, seven terrorists killed

He noted that many militants active in KP had ties to Afghanistan and used American weapons abandoned after the 2021 withdrawal.

Lt Gen Chaudhry also cited governance failures and weak implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) as key factors behind the resurgence of militancy.

“The void of bad governance is filled by the blood of martyrs,” he remarked, stressing that effective implementation of the NAP and improvement of governance in the KP were key to restoring peace and stability.