Flashpoints | Security | South Asia

Pakistan Strikes TTP and ISKP Camps in Afghanistan

Islamabad is now increasingly claiming that these groups pose a threat not just to Pakistan but to the world.

On February 22, Pakistan carried out air strikes in Afghanistan, targeting suspected camps and hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP).

According to Pakistan, these groups are behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad on February 6, and the killing of a senior military officer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the country’s military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps and hideouts of the TTP and its affiliates based in Afghanistan. The Pakistani ministry said it had conclusive evidence that recent attacks in Islamabad were perpetrated by militants at the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has criticized the attacks and vowed to respond at an appropriate time. “We will respond to these attacks in due course with a measured and appropriate response,” the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense said.

Pakistan’s decision to conduct these airstrikes inside Afghanistan marks a significant escalation in its strategy to deal with the TTP and other anti-Pakistan groups, as it breaks a period of relative de-escalation between the two countries under the October 2025 ceasefire, which was mediated by Qatar and Türkiye. However, the mediation by these countries failed to convince the Taliban regime to give up their support for the TTP or to agree to a ceasefire monitoring mechanism involving Pakistan and Afghanistan.

For Islamabad, the ceasefire was merely symbolic as Pakistani officials have maintained for months that the Taliban have shown no willingness to cease support for the TTP or evict the group from Afghan soil. Consequently, attacks from TTP on Pakistan have not only continued but have grown in intensity in recent weeks.

It is pertinent to mention that the recent Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan came hours after a suicide bomber attacked a security convoy in the Bannu district of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two soldiers, including a senior military officer. Last week, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post in Bajaur, killing 11 soldiers. Earlier, on February 6, another suicide bomber targeted a mosque in Islamabad. The attack resulted in the death of at least 31 worshippers and 170 others who were wounded. It appears Pakistan has now decided to significantly intensify pressure on Kabul by targeting militants based in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s allegations that the Taliban is sheltering militant groups like TTP are not mere rhetoric. These claims are grounded in growing evidence that these outfits are becoming a transnational threat.

Earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry estimated that around 20,000 to 23,000 fighters from various international terrorist groups are present in Afghanistan, noting that over half of them are foreign nationals. Among the larger groups, the ISKP is believed to number around 3,000, the TTP between 5000 and 7,000, and al-Qaida between 400 and 1500. Furthermore, a United Nations Security Council report released earlier this month warned that the TTP enjoys “preferential treatment” under the Taliban regime. The report noted that the scale of TTP activities has grown as has cooperation with al-Qaida-aligned groups to attack a wider range of targets, which could potentially result in an “extra-regional threat.”

This situation is fast becoming a major terror threat not just to Pakistan, but to the international community as well. It is noteworthy that few regional states have so far taken Pakistan’s warnings seriously regarding Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for diverse militant groups.

Pakistan is now increasingly taking the stance that these groups represent a global danger. Earlier this week, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari warned that “Pakistan takes strong exception to the situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to or worse than pre-9/11.” He was referring to the militant landscape in Afghanistan that led to the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

It does seem that the Taliban regime is either incapable of handling the spread of these groups or is intentionally providing some of them with space to operate.

The coming days and weeks will likely mark a tough new phase of hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The world may be only one major incident away from global attention finally shifting back to the threat posed by the currently thriving militant landscape in Afghanistan.

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On February 22, Pakistan carried out air strikes in Afghanistan, targeting suspected camps and hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP).

According to Pakistan, these groups are behind a spate of recent attacks, including a deadly suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad on February 6, and the killing of a senior military officer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the country’s military conducted “intelligence-based, selective operations” against seven camps and hideouts of the TTP and its affiliates based in Afghanistan. The Pakistani ministry said it had conclusive evidence that recent attacks in Islamabad were perpetrated by militants at the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has criticized the attacks and vowed to respond at an appropriate time. “We will respond to these attacks in due course with a measured and appropriate response,” the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense said.

Pakistan’s decision to conduct these airstrikes inside Afghanistan marks a significant escalation in its strategy to deal with the TTP and other anti-Pakistan groups, as it breaks a period of relative de-escalation between the two countries under the October 2025 ceasefire, which was mediated by Qatar and Türkiye. However, the mediation by these countries failed to convince the Taliban regime to give up their support for the TTP or to agree to a ceasefire monitoring mechanism involving Pakistan and Afghanistan.

For Islamabad, the ceasefire was merely symbolic as Pakistani officials have maintained for months that the Taliban have shown no willingness to cease support for the TTP or evict the group from Afghan soil. Consequently, attacks from TTP on Pakistan have not only continued but have grown in intensity in recent weeks.

It is pertinent to mention that the recent Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan came hours after a suicide bomber attacked a security convoy in the Bannu district of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing two soldiers, including a senior military officer. Last week, a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the wall of a security post in Bajaur, killing 11 soldiers. Earlier, on February 6, another suicide bomber targeted a mosque in Islamabad. The attack resulted in the death of at least 31 worshippers and 170 others who were wounded. It appears Pakistan has now decided to significantly intensify pressure on Kabul by targeting militants based in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s allegations that the Taliban is sheltering militant groups like TTP are not mere rhetoric. These claims are grounded in growing evidence that these outfits are becoming a transnational threat.

Earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Ministry estimated that around 20,000 to 23,000 fighters from various international terrorist groups are present in Afghanistan, noting that over half of them are foreign nationals. Among the larger groups, the ISKP is believed to number around 3,000, the TTP between 5000 and 7,000, and al-Qaida between 400 and 1500. Furthermore, a United Nations Security Council report released earlier this month warned that the TTP enjoys “preferential treatment” under the Taliban regime. The report noted that the scale of TTP activities has grown as has cooperation with al-Qaida-aligned groups to attack a wider range of targets, which could potentially result in an “extra-regional threat.”

This situation is fast becoming a major terror threat not just to Pakistan, but to the international community as well. It is noteworthy that few regional states have so far taken Pakistan’s warnings seriously regarding Afghanistan becoming a safe haven for diverse militant groups.

Pakistan is now increasingly taking the stance that these groups represent a global danger. Earlier this week, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari warned that “Pakistan takes strong exception to the situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to or worse than pre-9/11.” He was referring to the militant landscape in Afghanistan that led to the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

It does seem that the Taliban regime is either incapable of handling the spread of these groups or is intentionally providing some of them with space to operate.

The coming days and weeks will likely mark a tough new phase of hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The world may be only one major incident away from global attention finally shifting back to the threat posed by the currently thriving militant landscape in Afghanistan.

Umair Jamal is a freelance journalist, independent researcher, and teaching fellow at Forman Christian College, analyzing South Asian security and politics.

Afghanistan-Pakistan ceasefire

Pakistan strikes on Afghanistan

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