ISLAMABAD — Pakistani security forces conducted a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Sunday, June 28, 2026, followed by calibrated strikes against militant hideouts. The operations resulted in the deaths of 29 militants.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated the ground operation occurred in Bajaur, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Tarar specified that "high value Khawarji Commander Khan Farosh" and three other individuals were killed during the ground operation. He also said that precision strikes destroyed three targets in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces, killing 25 terrorists, and that large quantities of weapons and ammunition at targeted compounds were destroyed.

Tarar stated the operation targeted hideouts and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khwarij. He added, "Pakistan has always strived for maintaining peace and stability in the region, but at the same time shall not compromise on the safety and security of our citizens, which remains our top priority." Pakistan uses the term Fitna al-Khwarij for the Pakistani Taliban. There was no immediate response from Afghanistan regarding the operation.

The operation was launched in response to multiple militant attacks across Pakistan, according to Tarar. Militants had targeted the regional headquarters of the paramilitary Rangers in Karachi on Saturday, June 27, 2026, using guns and explosives. Three soldiers died in the attack. Security forces killed three attackers and arrested one assailant in wounded condition following the Karachi attack. The military identified the arrested assailant as an Afghan national. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack in a statement on Saturday night.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is a breakaway faction of the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan's military had previously launched airstrikes on alleged militant hideouts in Afghanistan less than three weeks before the June 28 operation. Those June 10 strikes, which Afghanistan stated hit the eastern provinces of Khost, Kunar, and Paktika, killed 26 militants, according to Pakistan. Pakistan denied targeting civilian areas in the June 10 strikes, stating they aimed at militant hideouts and infrastructure linked to attacks inside Pakistan.