Pakistan has carried out precision strikes targeting verified hideouts of the proscribed Gul Bahadur group in the border regions of North and South Waziristan, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed on Saturday, saying the operation resulted in the elimination of 60 to 70 militants, including senior leaders.
Sharing details on X (formerly Twitter), the minister said the action was based on credible intelligence reports, adding that the operation successfully neutralized key figures of the militant network responsible for orchestrating attacks inside Pakistan.
“These precision strikes sent 60–70 Khawarij terrorists and their leadership to hell,” Tarar stated, emphasizing that Pakistan reserves the right to defend its territorial integrity and citizens from cross-border terrorism.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following a series of unprovoked attacks by Taliban forces and India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on October 12. The Pakistan Armed Forces responded forcefully, killing over 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants in self-defence operations.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 23 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom during the clashes. Subsequent precision strikes were also carried out in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Kabul, destroying several militant strongholds linked to the cross-border aggression.
A temporary ceasefire, reached on October 15 at Kabul’s request, briefly paused hostilities. However, Tarar revealed that during the 48-hour truce, militants affiliated with the Khawarij group attempted multiple terror attacks inside Pakistan — all of which were successfully thwarted by the country’s security forces.
“In response, Pakistani forces eliminated over 100 militants associated with the group,” the minister said, noting that one vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) attack in North Waziristan claimed the life of a Pakistani soldier and several civilians, injuring many others.
Rejecting reports of civilian casualties during the strikes, Tarar termed them “baseless propaganda” aimed at generating sympathy for terrorist elements operating from Afghan soil.
He reaffirmed that Pakistan remains committed to peaceful engagement and constructive dialogue, stressing that the key to regional stability lies in Afghanistan’s firm action against non-state actors and dismantling Indian-sponsored terrorist networks operating from its territory.
