The Pakistan military conducted a series of high-precision airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, February 22, 2026, claiming to have killed at least 70 fighters across multiple insurgent strongholds. According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the “intelligence-based selective operations” targeted seven camps belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—referred to by officials as “Fitna al-Khawarij”—as well as affiliates of the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP). The strikes focused on the Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces, hitting what Islamabad describes as launchpads for recent suicide bombings inside Pakistan, including a deadly mosque attack in the capital. While Pakistani security sources later suggested the militant death toll could be as high as 80, the Taliban-led Afghan government has fiercely rejected these figures. Kabul condemned the strikes as a “blatant violation” of territorial sovereignty, alleging that the missiles hit civilian homes and a religious seminary, resulting in the deaths of at least 18 people, including women and children. This military escalation marks a significant breakdown in regional diplomacy following months of failed mediation attempts by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. As Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari defended the strikes as an “inherent right” to national defense, Afghan authorities have summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to lodge a formal protest, warning of a “measured and appropriate response” to the cross-border aggression.
