Taliban officials inspect a vehicle suspected of being hit by a Pakistani airstrike.Image: keystone
According to its own statements, Pakistan has attacked several terrorist camps and hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban and the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) in the border area with Afghanistan.
02/22/2026, 07:4502/22/2026, 07:45
The Ministry of Information announced this on the X platform. The attacks on seven targets were in retaliation for recent suicide attacks, including near the capital Islamabad.
Pakistan has clear evidence that these terrorist acts were carried out on behalf of the leaders of the respective terrorist groups in Afghanistan, it said. There was no further information about the location of the attacks. The information provided by the Pakistani government could not initially be independently verified.
Afghan media reported that targets were hit in the Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika. There was initially no official reaction from Kabul.
The attacks, particularly by the Pakistani Taliban, on Pakistani security forces and state institutions have been leading to massive tensions between the neighboring countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan for months. Last fall there were brief military clashes at the border. Pakistan also carried out air strikes on Afghanistan. Pakistan accuses the Taliban in Afghanistan of providing protection to fighters from the Pakistan Taliban (TTP). Kabul denies this.
Peace negotiations brokered by Qatar and Turkey have recently failed to produce a lasting agreement. An attack on a Shiite community center near Islamabad that left 36 people dead caused new tensions at the beginning of February. IS claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistan blamed an Afghan as the mastermind of the attack. (sda/dpa)