Pakistan's Information Ministry stated that the June 9 strikes, which killed 26 terrorists, were a response to continued terrorist incidents targeting military and police personnel within Pakistan. The ministry refuted Afghan Taliban claims of retaliatory strikes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, calling them false.
The Afghan Taliban, through official statements and propaganda, claimed to have targeted alleged ISKP camps using rudimentary drones. However, Pakistan's Information Ministry countered, stating that a Taliban drone intruded into Pakistani airspace near Shinko, Khyber, and was neutralized by the Pakistan Air Force's air defense system. The ministry also asserted that terrorist camps, including those of Daesh and numerous other organizations, are located, run, and patronized from within areas controlled by the Afghan Taliban regime. Pakistan has also accused Afghanistan of harboring militants, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which carries out attacks inside Pakistan.
Over the past few months, tensions have escalated. In February, Pakistan declared "open war" with Afghanistan following cross-border clashes, with a military spokesman stating that strikes killed 274 Taliban militants while Pakistan lost 12 soldiers. In March, Pakistan claimed its campaign against Afghan militants resulted in over 350 Taliban dead, with more than 530 injured and 130 check posts destroyed, across 41 locations in Afghanistan.
Despite Chinese mediation efforts in April, which resulted in a brief lull, hostilities resumed. Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil and has emphasized that progress in ties with Afghanistan depends on credible counter-terrorism assurances from Kabul, specifically a commitment that its soil will not be used for attacks against Pakistan. This demand, however, remains unmet.
