Pakistan strikes Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij camps in Afghanistan after Karachi Rangers attack

Summary

Pakistan's military launched a new round of strikes under the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq overnight June 28-29, targeting Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij camps in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted videos on X claiming precision strikes destroyed safe havens used by cross-border militants; a separate ground operation near Bajaur district killed four fighters, including a commander. The trigger was a Saturday night assault on the Pakistan Rangers regional headquarters in Karachi, in which three soldiers were killed. Islamabad puts the militant toll at 29; Afghan officials say 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 160 wounded, and Kabul called the strikes a violation of Afghan sovereignty.

Why it matters

The Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict has run hot since February with no diplomatic off-ramp visible. Islamabad's position remains that cross-border sanctuary for groups like Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and the TTP makes Afghanistan's soil a legitimate target; Kabul's Taliban government says it does not harbour these groups and that Pakistani strikes amount to an act of war. A UN investigation into civilian casualties adds international pressure, but the core dispute over who has the right to define a terrorist on the other side of the Durand Line shows no sign of resolution.