Pakistan carried out strikes along its border with Afghanistan on Sunday, killing 29 people in what authorities described as a planned operation launched in response to a series of recent militant attacks across the country.
The action came hours after an attack on the provincial headquarters of the Pakistan Sindh Rangers in Karachi left three paramilitary personnel and three militants dead. Pakistani officials said the operation targeted threats linked to growing security challenges in several parts of the country.
Government Says Operation Followed Recent Attacks
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces conducted a “well planned intelligence based ground operation” along the Pakistan-Afghan border, accompanied by strikes in the border region.
According to Tarar, the operation was launched in the aftermath of “recent multiple terrorist incidents inside Pakistan against the innocent people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) Camp, Karachi.”
The government has not released further details regarding the identities of those killed during the operation or the specific locations targeted along the frontier.
Karachi Ranger Headquarters Came Under Attack
The border operation followed a major attack on the Sindh Rangers’ provincial headquarters in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area on Saturday night.
Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho told Dawn that three paramilitary personnel and three militants were killed in the assault.
According to Odho, the attackers rammed a vehicle into the main gate of the compound before launching the attack. Authorities initially could not determine whether an explosion had also occurred during the incident.
Security forces subsequently launched a clearance operation and sealed off the area. Odho said Special Security Unit commandos, the Anti-Terrorist Force and Rangers personnel were involved in the operation.
Police Surgeon Summaiya Syed said one injured paramilitary trooper was taken to hospital after suffering gunshot wounds to the leg.
Militant Group Claims Responsibility
Witnesses reported heavy gunfire and an explosion near the Rangers facility, prompting a large deployment of law enforcement personnel to the area.
Rescue 1122 Sindh said it received reports of an explosion near Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 5 and immediately dispatched emergency teams from its central command and control centre.
According to Al Jazeera, an affiliate of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack later on Saturday.
The group said nine attackers had participated in the operation. The assault comes amid a broader rise in attacks targeting Pakistan’s security forces across different parts of the country.
Sunday’s border strikes underscore Islamabad’s efforts to respond to the growing security threat as authorities continue operations against militant groups operating in and around the country’s western frontier.
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