Pakistan rebuffs India's statement on targeted strikes against terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan

Pakistan on Wednesday rejected India’s criticism of its recent “targeted and proportionate” actions against terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan, calling New Delhi’s remarks “baseless” and accusing India of supporting terrorist groups operating against Pakistan.

“Pakistan rejects the baseless statement by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Pakistan’s legitimate, targeted and proportionate actions against terrorist infrastructure in Afghanistan,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in response to a media question seeking Pakistan’s reaction to the statement made by India’s Ministry of External Affairs on June 29.

He described India’s remarks as “preposterous”, alleging that India had “historically interfered in and undermined the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbouring countries, in contravention of the UN Charter”.

The spokesperson also accused India of continuing “to suppress the right to self-determination of the Kashmiris in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, in violation of the relevant UN resolutions”.

Andrabi further said India had “been actively aiding and sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil against Pakistan, in violation of the relevant UN Security Council sanctions regime”, and accused New Delhi of continuing “to play the role of a regional spoiler”.

He added that “its baseless accusations and inflammatory statements against Pakistan must not be entertained”.

Reiterating Islamabad’s position, the spokesperson said Pakistan “has been and will continue to take all appropriate measures to uphold the safety and security of its citizens in accordance with international law”.

Read: 29 terrorists killed in 'calibrated strikes' along Pak-Afghan border, says Tarar

Earlier in the week, security forces had carried out precision strikes on terrorist camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces, killing 29 terrorists.

The strikes were conducted under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq on the night of June 28-29 after an attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi. In a post on X, Information Minister Ata Tarar said the strikes eliminated terrorists and destroyed weapons and ammunition stockpiles.

Tarar said that security forces continued Operation Ghazab Lil Haq after a series of terrorist attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Balochistan, and on a Sindh Rangers camp in Karachi.

The strikes came after security forces foiled a terrorist attack on a Sindh Rangers camp in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar area. Three Rangers personnel were martyred, and four others were injured during the assault, while three terrorists were killed and another, identified as an Afghan national, was captured in an injured condition. The military attributed the attack to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.

Fitna al-Khawarij is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is one of the group's breakaway factions.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched around the end of February following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.

Pakistan in April put forth three core demands to the Afghan Taliban during peace talks in Urumqi, China, including Kabul formally declaring the TTP a terrorist organisation, dismantling its infrastructure, and providing verifiable proof of the action. The demands form the basis of Pakistan's negotiating position, which sources say has hardened amid persistent security concerns.