ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Sunday issued a stark warning that any further terrorist attacks emanating from Afghan territory will prompt direct strikes on terrorist positions inside Afghanistan, signalling a major shift in rules of engagement along the porous frontier.
The warning followed intense overnight clashes and a series of precision operations, Islamabad says, which were carried out in self-defence. In an official military statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Pakistan had carried out targeted strikes against Taliban posts, training centres and command nodes it identified as safe havens for groups that attack Pakistani soil. The army framed the operations as limited, precise responses to what it described as “unprovoked” assaults on Pakistani border posts.
The operations coincided with reports of heavy exchanges across multiple sectors of the 2,600-kilometre border and the temporary closure of major crossings, including Torkham and Chaman, as authorities sought to contain the violence and civilian displacement.
Islamabad also reported significant terrorist casualties and troop losses in the clashes, while Afghan authorities gave competing casualty figures. Security sources in Islamabad said the new posture combines kinetic action with a tougher administrative line.
