Pakistan sets new'rules of engagement'

Pakistan on Sunday issued a stark warning that any further terrorist attacks emanating from Afghan territory will prompt direct strikes on terrorist positions inside Afghanistan, signalling a major shift in rules of engagement along the porous frontier.

The warning followed intense overnight clashes and a series of precision operations Islamabad says were carried out in self-defence. In an official military statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Pakistan had carried out targeted strikes against Taliban posts, training centres and command nodes it identified as safe havens for groups that attack Pakistani soil. The army framed the operations as limited, precise responses to what it described as "unprovoked" assaults on Pakistani border posts.

The operations coincided with reports of heavy exchanges across multiple sectors of the 2,600-kilometre border and the temporary closure of major crossings, including Torkham and Chaman, as authorities sought to contain the violence and civilian displacement.

Islamabad also reported significant terrorist casualties and troop losses in the clashes, while Afghan authorities gave competing casualty figures. Security sources in Islamabad said the new posture combines kinetic action with a tougher administrative line.

"Pakistan will hold the Afghan administration responsible for militant activity launched from Afghan soil and has warned that future cross-border attacks will be met with strikes inside Afghanistan," according to sources. Pakistan has in the past conducted cross border strikes but those were not frequent.

But new rules of engagement mean that there may be frequent such actions if Afghan side refuses to rein in terrorist outfits. Government officials also reiterated earlier threats to accelerate steps against undocumented Afghan nationals living in Pakistan.

International actors including regional mediators have urged restraint and dialogue, warning that continued tit-for-tat operations risk a broader regional escalation and humanitarian fallout for civilians on both sides of the border.

A senior official told The Express Tribune that the Afghan side made a major mistake by launching attacks last night. "This is our turf [conventional war] and the Taliban cannot compete us. They have handed a great advantage to us," the official said, adding Pakistan would use this window to inflict maximum damage to the terror infrastructure.

There was no other option but to create deterrence where the Afghan side understand the cost of supporting the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the official explained. The official revealed that Pakistan will now go after "its enemies" wherever they are in Afghanistan.

"Whether they are hiding in Kabul or Khost or Kandahar, we will hunt them down," the official stressed. It is believed that the TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud narrowly escaped when Pakistan struck his vehicle in Kabul with precision strikes a few days ago. It is now confirmed that the vehicle was indeed in the use of TTP chief but at the time of attack he was not inside.

Sources said the Afghan side deliberately down played the Kabul strikes as they knew TTP chief was the target. "Pakistan's action has clearly rattled them [Afghan Taliban]. They were not expecting us to carry out such attacks," according to sources.