ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces killed 481 Afghan Taliban terrorists and injured more than 696 during cross-border strikes under Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq, the country's information minister reported on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s military campaign entered its sixth day with intensified strikes inside Afghanistan. The large-scale military response followed multiple attempted cross-border attacks by terror groups overnight in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.
In a statement posted to X (Twitter) at 4 p.m. local time, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar reported that Pakistani forces destroyed 226 posts and captured 35 posts.
“198 tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery guns were destroyed,” Tarar said. He stated that 56 locations across Afghanistan were "effectively targeted by air."
Earlier today Radio Pakistan reported Pakistan army destroyed “Taliban hideouts at fifty different locations by using heavy weapons.” As per the security sources, “effective actions were carried out in Qila Saifullah, Chaman, Sambaza, Ghudwana, Jani and Ghaznali sectors.”
According to security sources, “one Afghan Taliban terrorist was killed, while three others were captured alive in a wounded state.”
Pakistan army also foiled an infiltration attempt by Afghan Taliban and Fitnah al Khawarij near Torkham.
According to security sources, “Afghan Taliban ringleader was killed along with associates while attempting infiltration.”
The Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, defined the operation as a "measured and proportionate response" to unprovoked cross-border aggression earlier this week. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi called the engagement an “effective and forceful response” to safeguard territorial integrity during a weekly press briefing on Feb. 26.
Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament on Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari warned Afghanistan’s interim government to dismantle terrorist groups operating from its territory. He said that Pakistan would not tolerate cross-border attacks and "will respond decisively" to any aggression.
"The Taliban regime saw with shock and awe what Pakistan could do if pushed past the red line," Zardari said. He added that security forces acted quickly to signal zero tolerance for incursions into sovereign territory.
The President noted that despite repeated diplomatic engagements, the Afghan de facto regime continues to provide safe havens to groups, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and IS-KP. He said that commitments made during talks in Doha to prevent such activity have been ignored.
Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Asif, characterized the current security climate as an "open war," stating that national patience regarding border incursions has been exhausted.
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