Pakistan Conducts Strikes in Afghanistan Amid Rising Suicide Attack Tolerance

Pakistani Air Strikes Target Afghan Border Provinces

Pakistan’s military conducted air strikes in Afghanistan on Sunday, targeting what it described as “camps and hideouts” belonging to armed groups responsible for recent attacks. The strikes reportedly hit the border provinces of Paktika and Nangarhar.

According to sources, a drone strike targeted a religious school in Paktika province, while attacks also took place in Nangarhar province. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated that the country’s military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) and its affiliates.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted in the border region, according to the ministry. The statement claimed that recent attacks in Islamabad, as well as in the northwestern Bajaur and Bannu districts, were perpetrated by fighters “on behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers”.

Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban government to take action to prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks. However, Kabul has failed to undertake any substantive action.

The Pakistani air strikes came hours after a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two soldiers. On Monday, another suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security post in Bajaur, killing 11 soldiers and a child.

The Taliban government has not commented on the strikes. The Pakistani military said that the planning, training, and indoctrination for recent attacks took place in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reiterated its call on the international community to press the Taliban to uphold its commitments under an agreement signed with the United States in 2020.

The strikes are part of a surge in violence in Pakistan, much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. Relations between the neighbouring countries have remained tense since October, when deadly border clashes killed dozens of soldiers, civilians, and suspected fighters.

Source: Al Jazeera