Security sources said Pakistan carried out effective action against hideouts of Fitna al-Khawarij and ISKP inside Afghanistan, undertaking intelligence-based, limited and precise operations.

The targets were terrorist camps and positions, not civilian populations. According to the sources, allegations of targeting civilians are false and misleading. Fitna al-Khawarij uses civilian areas as human shields, they said, adding that Pakistan took steps beforehand to minimise collateral damage.

The sources maintained that Pakistan respects the sanctity of mosques and madrasas. Terrorists misuse religion by declaring their hideouts as mosques or seminaries, they added, saying that terrorism under the guise of faith is itself a violation of religious sanctity.

Security officials recalled that the same elements have in the past attacked mosques, imambargahs and civilians. Pakistan’s action was directed against terrorists, not Afghanistan, and constituted a defensive counter-terrorism response.

Pakistan has repeatedly informed Afghan authorities of its concerns regarding terrorist sanctuaries. Regional sovereignty, the sources said, cannot serve as a shield for cross-border terrorism. Pakistan continues to conduct extensive counter-terrorism operations within its own territory.

In 2025, Pakistan conducted more than 75,000 intelligence-based operations, in which over 2,500 terrorists were killed, while hundreds of civilians and security personnel embraced martyrdom. Cross-border safe havens remain a significant cause of the problem, not an excuse.

Pakistan’s position is clear that joint, verifiable action against terrorism is indispensable. The country seeks de-escalation but will not compromise on the protection of its citizens.

It may be recalled that following terrorist attacks carried out in Pakistan by Fitna al-Khawarij last night, Pakistan successfully targeted seven terrorist hideouts at various locations inside Afghanistan.

Sources said fighter jets carried out strikes in Afghanistan’s provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Nangarhar and Khost, inflicting heavy losses on militants and destroying several of their positions.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said leadership and facilitators of terrorists based in Afghanistan were involved in recent suicide attacks in Pakistan. The terrorists recently carried out attacks at an imambargah in Islamabad, and in Bajaur and Bannu.

The statement added that responsibility for these attacks was claimed by the Pakistani Taliban based in Afghanistan, Fitna al-Khawarij and its allies. Pakistan possesses credible evidence that these terrorist acts were carried out on the instructions of leadership operating from Afghan soil.