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Pakistan Air strike: Why did Pakistan carry out airstrikes in Afghanistan? | Explained

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The story so far: In a major escalation of tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan this week, Pakistani fighters carried out airstrikes inside the Afghan provinces of Paktika and Khost, leading to fighting along the border. At least eight civilians, including three children, were killed in the pre-dawn attacks, Afghan officials said.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other splinter groups were the prime target of the “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” early on March 18, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry said, blaming TTP for the surge in terror incidents in the country. Most recently, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing at an army outpost in North Waziristan district, for which President Asif Ali Zardari had vowed retaliation.

The Taliban strongly condemned the strikes, and as retaliation, attacked Pakistani military posts along the border using “heavy weapons.” In a statement, the Taliban described the military action as a “reckless” violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, adding that such incidents could have “very bad consequences.”

Although the fighting along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has stopped for now, the incident highlights the increasing tension between the two countries, as Islamabad has accused the Taliban of providing refuge to terrorists launching frequent attacks on its territory.

What lies ahead for Pakistan-Taliban relations? What next? | In Focus podcast

The backstory

The 2,670-kilometre Durand Line which marks the international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan has long been a point of contention between the two nations. Cutting through the Pashtun-dominated regions, the Line stretches from Afghanistan’s border with China in the north to its border with Iran in the south.

A majority of Pashtuns living along the border, including Taliban leaders and fighters, have refused to endorse the demarcation. Successive Afghan governments have also disputed the Line, claiming Pashtun territories in Pakistan, including the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and parts of the North West Frontier Province. The disagreement over the border has caused tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban— despite historically good bilateral ties. Notably, Pakistan played a significant role in mediating the 2020 U.S.-Taliban agreement and supported the Taliban after they regained power in Afghanistan in 2021. 

Why has Pakistan’s relationship with the Taliban soured?

Tensions became apparent following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, after it firmly rejected the Durand Line as a permanent border, asserting that it divided ethnic Pashtuns. A series of skirmishes between the two forces along the border were reported in the following days.

The tensions further escalated after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, called off a ceasefire in November 2022, when talks brokered by the Afghan Taliban broke down. The Afghan Taliban and the TTP are separate groups with common ideological links. The Pakistani Taliban is behind some of the bloodiest attacks in the country, responsible for killing thousands of Pakistanis in 15 years of insurgency.

A regrouped TTP ordered nationwide attacks after the ceasefire ended, which resulted in an unprecedented surge in terror incidents across Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan, have been the worst-affected provinces. The country saw a 69% increase in attacks in 2023, an 81% rise in resultant deaths, and a 60% surge in the number of injuries, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS). The total violence-related fatalities reached a record six-year high last year, with over 1,500 deaths from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations, as per reports by the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS).

Security officials examine the site of a bomb explosion, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
| Photo Credit:
MUHAMMAD SAJJAD

Amid a multifaceted crisis, Pakistan urged the Afghan Taliban to control the TTP. While the Taliban assured that they wouldn’t permit anyone to use Afghan soil for attacks against any country, the surge in attacks since 2021 has created distrust between Pakistan and the Taliban.

Also Read | What’s behind the Pakistani Taliban’s deadly insurgency?

What triggered the airstrikes?

On March 16, seven Pakistani soldiers were killed after a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden truck into a post in North Waziristan. The next day, while offering funeral prayers for the soldiers, President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to “respond strongly.” Hours later, the Taliban released a statement, alleging that Pakistani planes had bombed the Barmal district of Paktika province and Sepera district in Khost at 3 a.m. on March 18, resulting in the deaths of civilians.

Pakistan confirmed that the airstrikes hit rebels belonging to TTP’s Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group after the outfit claimed responsibility for the March 16 attack. In a press release, the Pakistani Foreign Office said that the country had conveyed its serious concerns to the Afghan government over the presence of terror outfits including TTP inside Afghanistan over the past two years. “These terrorists pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory,” it added.

“We have repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete and effective action to ensure that the Afghan soil is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan… Pakistan has great respect for the people of Afghanistan. However, certain elements among those in power in Afghanistan are actively patronising TTP and using them as a proxy against Pakistan,” the statement read. Describing the TTP as a “collective threat to regional peace and security,” Pakistan added that it will continue to work towards finding joint solutions to counter terrorism and to prevent any terrorist organisation from sabotaging bilateral relations with Afghanistan.

Notably, this was not the first time that Pakistan has launched airstrikes against Afghanistan. In April 2022, the Pakistani military carried out a similar operation in Khost and Kunar provinces.

Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security expert, told the Associated Press that the said strikes indicate that Pakistan’s patience for the Taliban’s “continued hospitality” for terrorists conducting frequent attacks on Pakistan from Afghan territory has finally run out.

What has the Taliban said?

The Taliban has warned Pakistan of “very bad consequences which will be out of Pakistan’s control” in case of continued attacks inside its territory. The Taliban spokesperson claimed that attacks took place on houses of civilians, killing five women and three children. He said in a statement that Pakistan “should not blame Afghanistan for the lack of control, incompetence and problems in its own territory”.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs also issued a protest letter to the summoned charge d’affaires of Pakistan’s embassy, saying the country “won’t tolerate any kind of invasion of its territory.”

The Taliban denied Pakistan’s Special Representative to Afghanistan Ambassador Asif Durrani’s recent charge that Afghanistan was providing shelter to 5,000 to 6,000 TTP militants, but acknowledged the possibility of their presence due to Afghanistan’s rugged terrain. “We reject the presence of any foreign groups in Afghanistan… But one thing we must accept is that Afghanistan shares a very long border area with Pakistan, and there are places with rugged terrain including mountains and forests, and places that might be out of our control,” Mr. Mujahid told Tolo News.



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Pakistan blames ‘security lapse’ for Peshawar mosque blast, 100 dead

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Pakistani authorities scrambled Tuesday to determine how a suicide bomber was able to carry out one of the country’s deadliest militant attacks in years, unleashing an explosion in a crowded mosque inside a highly secured police compound in the city of Peshawar. The death toll from the blast climbed to 100.

Monday morning’s bombing, which left at least 225 wounded, raised alarm among officials over a major security breach at a time when the Pakistani Taliban, the main anti-government militant group, has stepped up attacks, particularly targeting the police and the military.

Who carried out the bombing was unclear. A commander from the Pakistani Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, claimed responsibility, but a spokesman for the group later distanced the TTP from the carnage, saying it was not its policy to attack mosques.

More than 300 worshippers were praying in the Sunni mosque, with more approaching, when the bomber set off his explosives vest, officials said. The blast blew off part of the roof, and what was left caved in, injuring many more, according to Zafar Khan, a police officer.

Rescuers worked through the night and into Tuesday morning, removing mounds of debris to reach worshippers still trapped under the rubble. The death toll rose as more bodies were found and several of the critically injured died, said Mohammad Asim, a government hospital spokesman in Peshawar.

Also Read | Explained | What’s behind the Pakistani Taliban’s deadly insurgency?

Most of the victims were police officers, he said.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating how the bomber was able to reach the mosque, which is inside a walled-off police headquarters compound called Police Lines. The compound is located in a heavily security district of Peshawar that includes other government buildings.

“Yes, it was a security lapse,” said Ghulam Ali, the provincial governor in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital.

Akhtar Ali Shah, a former regional interior secretary once based in Peshawar, said it “was not a spur of the moment attack.”

“It was the handiwork of a well-organized group,” he told The Associated Press. He said those behind the attack must have had inside help to gain access to the compound and probably entered it several times for reconnaissance or even to plant explosives ahead of time.

“It’s not a security lapse, it’s a security breach,” he said. “From all entry points, there are multiple layers of security you have to cross” with ID checks.

Talat Masood, a retired army general and senior security analyst said Monday’s suicide bombing showed “negligence.”

“When we know that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan is active, and when we know that they have threatened to carry out attacks, there should have been more security at the police compound in Peshawar,” he told the AP, using the official name of the Pakistani Taliban.

The military’s media wing declined an Associated Press interview request for the chief of army staff. Asim Munir, who took office in November, has yet to do any media appearances.

Kamran Bangash, a provincial secretary-general with the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, called for an investigation and blamed the instability on the government of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The government “has failed to improve the economy and law and order situation, and it should resign to pave the way for snap parliamentary elections,” he said. The party’s leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan, denounced the attack.

The bombing comes as Pakistan is contending with political and economic crises from a disputed election and from unprecedented floods last summer that killed 1,739 people, destroyed more than 2 million homes, and at one point submerged as much as a third of the country.

Sharif visited a hospital in Peshawar after the bombing and vowed “stern action” against those behind the attack. On Tuesday he dismissed criticism of his government and called for unity. “My message to all political forces is one of unity against anti-Pakistan elements. We can fight our political fights later,” he tweeted.

Shortly after the explosion, a Pakistan Taliban commander Sarbakaf Mohmand claimed responsibility for the attack in a post on Twitter.

But hours later, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani said it was not the group’s policy to target mosques, seminaries and religious places and that those taking part in such acts could face punitive action under TTP’s policy. His statement did not address why a TTP commander had claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Pakistan, which is mostly Sunni Muslim, has seen a surge in militant attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended a cease-fire with government forces.

The Pakistani Taliban are the dominant militant group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and Peshawar has been the scene of frequent attacks. In 2014, a Pakistani Taliban faction attacked an army-run school in Peshawar and killed 154, mostly schoolchildren.

But the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group and a rival of the Taliban, has also been behind deadly attacks in Pakistan in recent years. Overall, violence has increased since the Afghan Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops pulled out of the country after 20 years of war.

The TTP is separate from but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. It has waged an insurgency in Pakistan in the past 15 years, seeking stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody and a reduction in the Pakistani military presence in areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province it has long used as its base.

Earlier this month, the Pakistani Taliban claimed one of its members shot and killed two intelligence officers, including the director of the counterterrorism wing of the Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency. Security officials said Monday the gunman was killed in a shootout near the Afghan border.

The Taliban-run Afghan Foreign Ministry said it was “saddened to learn that numerous people lost their lives” in Peshawar and condemned attacks on worshippers as contrary to the teachings of Islam.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to the Middle East, tweeted his condolences, saying the bombing in Peshawar was a “horrific attack.”

“Terrorism for any reason at any place is indefensible,” he said.

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