Pakistan said it launched strikes on seven militant sites inside Afghanistan in a "retributive response” to recent suicide attacks it said were carried out by Afghan-based extremists, as tensions escalated between the two South Asian neighbors.
Pakistan "has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts," the Information Ministry said early on February 22.
Islamabad said it had "conclusive evidence" that recent attacks inside Pakistan were carried out by Afghan-based Pakistani Taliban extremists who were allegedly acting on instructions from "their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers."
SEE ALSO: What's Behind The Unprecedented Attacks In Pakistan’s Balochistan?The Pakistani ministry said it targeted the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, along with the Pakistani Taliban, in the strikes. It did not immediately provide details of the attacks or describe the evidence it said its intelligence agencies had gathered.
But Afghan officials said that "dozens of people" had been killed and injured in the country's Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, "including women and children."
The claims from either side could not immediately be verified.
The renewed violence comes after hopes had been raised for an easing of tensions days earlier, when Kabul released three Pakistani soldiers in a Saudi-mediated move following months of border clashes in the remote regions.
Suicide Attacks Inside Pakistan
A least four suicide attacks have been carried out in recent weeks. Three were in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and one was in the capital, Islamabad, killing dozens of civilians and security personnel.
Islamabad alleged that the extremist Taliban leaders of Afghanistan had failed to take "substantive action" against the militants despite repeated requests.
SEE ALSO: Anger And Chaos As Thousands Displaced Ahead Of Pakistani Military OperationIt urged Kabul to prevent the use of its territory for attacks against Pakistan by terror groups.
Afghanistan denies Pakistan's accusations that it is sheltering the Pakistani Taliban, which is an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban but appears to operate separately.
Tensions have escalated between the two countries since Pakistan conducted air strikes on Kabul in October 2025 and followed up with additional attacks on Afghan territory.
Dozens of soldiers from both sides were killed in artillery clashes and heavy gunfire last year before a cease-fire was agreed through Qatari mediation.
Lack Of Long-Term Solution
However, several rounds of talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey aimed at easing the tensions along the border have failed to bring about a long-term breakthrough.
SEE ALSO: Pakistani Authorities Make First Arrests After Deadly Mosque AttackAmong the most serious attacks was a February 6 suicide bombing at a Shi'ite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 32 people as they observed Friday Prayers.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack, which was the deadliest terror strike since 2008 in the Pakistani capital.
Fighting along the 2,600-kilometer frontier has forced the closing of several key border crossings and disrupted trade and movement.
Afghan's Taliban rulers have not been recognized by most of the world community as the legitimate government in the country and have been accused of extensive human rights abuses, especially against women and girls.