Pakistan has carried out retaliatory strikes against terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan, eliminating 28 Khwarij in Paktika and Kunar, following the recent terrorist attack on the Kohat Police Lines and evidence linking the attackers to networks operating from Afghan territory.
The strikes targeted terrorist hideouts and other facilities being used by the Khwarij as safe havens, according to Pakistani authorities. The operation was aimed at disrupting the infrastructure from which terrorist attacks against Pakistan were being planned and facilitated.
The development follows the identification of the suicide bomber involved in the Kohat Police Lines attack as an Afghan national. Security investigations also established that the attackers remained in contact with their handlers based in Afghanistan during the assault, according to Pakistani security sources.
The findings provided Pakistan with further evidence of the cross-border terrorist network involved in attacks inside the country and prompted the retaliatory action against its bases and safe havens across the border.
Pakistani authorities said 28 Khwarij were eliminated in the strikes conducted in Paktika and Kunar, while a number of others were injured. The targeted locations included terrorist hideouts used by elements involved in planning and facilitating attacks against Pakistan.
The strikes underscore Pakistan’s stated position that terrorist attacks originating from Afghan territory will be met with a response against the terrorist infrastructure facilitating them.
Pakistan has repeatedly maintained that its actions against terrorist sanctuaries across the border are retaliatory and aimed specifically at groups using Afghan soil to plan, support and launch attacks against Pakistan.
The latest operation has also placed renewed focus on the role of Afghan-based handlers and safe havens in facilitating terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly as security forces continue operations against terrorist elements inside the province.
The operation against the terrorist hideouts is continuing, with Pakistani security authorities maintaining that the objective is to dismantle the networks responsible for attacks against Pakistan and prevent them from using sanctuaries across the border to plan further attacks.
