Pakistani security forces killed 35 terrorists and captured three high-profile senior commanders during an ongoing intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Mangla Zarghoon Ghar area.

A spokesperson for the Balochistan Government, Shahid Rind, told the media in Quetta on Sunday night (May 17, 2026) that the operation, which began on May 13, saw the deaths of 35 terrorists over the past four days.

“The operation was against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and their proxy groups in Balochistan,” Mr. Rind said.

Mr. Rind mentioned that the three captured commanders are high-profile figures, and the operation was conducted based on intelligence gathered from previously captured militants in the province.

“The security forces also destroyed several base camps in the Mangla Zarghoon Ghar region,” he added.

He noted that additional operations are underway in the province, based on credible, actionable intelligence aimed at apprehending the facilitators, handlers, and financial supporters of these terrorist elements.

The Pakistan military is yet to release a statement regarding this latest anti-terror operation.

Last Wednesday (May 13, 2026), five soldiers, including a major, were killed during a clean-up operation against terrorists in Balochistan’s Barkhan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), which also stated that at least seven terrorists were killed during that operation.

Pakistan’s foreign minister said Monday (March 23, 2026) that the country remains committed to “eradicating the menace of terrorism”, as the clock ticked down to the end of a temporary ceasefire with Afghanistan.

Both countries last Wednesday (March 18, 2026) announced a halt to weeks of hostilities for the Id al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan, agreeing to a temporary ceasefire until midnight Monday.

But in a message to mark Pakistan Day, a national holiday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar indicated that the country’s approach to the conflict had not changed.

“Pakistan remains firmly committed to eradicate the menace of terrorism,” he said in a statement. “Pakistan’s actions inside Afghanistan… are directed towards this goal.”

On Sunday, the Taliban government and a medical source said one person was killed by a mortar shell fired by Pakistan in the eastern border province of Kunar.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have been locked in conflict for months over claims from Islamabad that Kabul is harbouring extremists behind cross-border attacks on its territory.

The Taliban authorities deny the claim.

In his own Pakistan Day message, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said military action inside Afghanistan was “a symbol of our national resolve against terrorism”.

“We will not allow any harm to the peace and security of our country,” he added.

Identification

The Id truce came after a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul last Monday, which Afghan authorities said killed more than 400.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, an international NGO, said the following day that “hundreds” were killed and injured.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told AFP on Monday that identification of the bodies was still ongoing and new funerals were expected to take place in the coming days.

About 50 bodies were buried in a mass grave in Kabul last Wednesday (March 18, 2026).

On Saturday (March 21, 2026), the Afghan Health Ministry called on families to contact the forensic medicine department to help identify “dozens of bodies”.

The UN assistance mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Monday (March 23, 2026)said preliminary figures from their investigation indicated that there were 143 killed and 119 wounded.

But a spokesperson told AFP the toll was likely to increase, with the process slowed by difficulties in identifying some bodies.

According to a UN toll last Tuesday (March 17, 2026), not taking into account the drug rehabilitation centre strike, at least 76 Afghan civilians have been killed in the fighting since it intensified on February 26.

More than 115,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan, it added.

“The calls for a ceasefire continue… China has offered to mediate and the Secretary General has said that he would support such a mediation,” the UNAMA spokesperson said.

ndia on Tuesday (March 17, 2026) “unequivocally” condemned Pakistan’s bombing of Omid Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital in Afghanistan capital Kabul on the night of March 16 terming it “barbaric” and “unconscionable”.

The remarks from the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came hours after the bombing that marked an escalation in the ongoing conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The Taliban administration in Kabul had described the attack on the drug rehabilitation centre as a violation of Afghan airspace and revealed that the bombing led to the death of around 400 individuals who were seeking treatment in the facility.

‘Externalising internal failures’

“This heinous act of aggression by Pakistan is also a blatant assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability. It reflects Pakistan’s persistent pattern of reckless behaviour and its repeated attempts to externalise internal failures through increasingly desperate acts of violence beyond its borders,” said Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Omid Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital is a former U.S. military base that has been converted into a drug addiction treatment centre for Afghanistan’s drug addicts. The military base was taken over by the Taliban and converted into a rudimentary care centre for large number of Afghanistan’s drug addicts, after the end of the Ashraf Ghani government in August 2021.

According to Khaama Press of Afghanistan, the Pakistan Air Force has continued bombing across Afghanistan over the past two days and apart from the Omid Drug Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul, it has also bombed targets in Nangarhar province including Achin, Shinwari districts and the Jalalabad airport. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman of the Taliban administration, said, “Pakistani military regime has once again violated Afghanistan’s airspace and targeted a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul resulting in the death and injury of addicts who were undergoing treatment.”

Responding to the incident, which marks the largest number of civilian deaths in a single airstrike since the conflict flared up last year between the two sides, Mr. Jaiswal said: “India unequivocally condemns Pakistan’s barbaric airstrike on the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in Kabul on the night of March 16. This is a cowardly and unconscionable act of violence that has claimed the lives of a large number of civilians in a facility which can by no means be justified as a military target.”

Pakistan has claimed that the hospital was serving as an arms and ammunition depot. Responding to this, the Ministry of External Affairs said Pakistan is now trying to “dress up a massacre as a miliary operation”.

Several Afghanistan cricketers have spoken out against the civilian casualties reported in Kabul following airstrikes by Pakistan, expressing grief and calling for justice.

Afghanistan’s Deputy Government spokesman said early Tuesday (March 17, 2026) the death toll from an airstrike by Pakistan that hit a hospital treating drug users in the Afghan capital Kabul has increased to 400. Pakistan had earlier denied that it had hit a hospital.

The latest bombardment highlights rapidly deteriorating relations between Pakistan and the Taliban administration as both sides continue to trade accusations over security issues.

Rashid Khan took to X to express his outrage, saying he was “deeply saddened by the latest reports of civilian casualties in Kabul”. The all-rounder added that targeting civilian homes, educational facilities, or medical infrastructure, whether intentional or accidental, amounts to a war crime.

“I am deeply saddened by the latest reports of civilian casualties as a result of Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul. Targeting civilian homes, educational facilities or medical infrastructure, either intentional or by mistake, is a war crime. The sheer disregard for human lives, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, is sickening and deeply concerning. It will only fuel division and hatred. I call upon the UN and other human rights agencies to thoroughly investigate this latest atrocity and hold the perpetrators to account. I stand with my Afghan people in this difficult time. We shall heal, and we will rise as a nation. We always do. Inshallah!” Rashid Khan wrote.

Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi shared a video on X, writing, “Tonight in Kabul, hope was extinguished at a hospital. Young men seeking treatment were murdered in a bombing by the Pakistani military regime. Mothers waited at the gates, calling their sons’ names. On the 28th night of Ramadan, their lives were cut short.”

Similarly, Ibrahim Zadran, who is the captain of the T20I side, condemned the air strike by Pakistan. “Tonight I heard a massive explosion here in Kabul. Moments later, we saw flames rising into the sky from a hospital. Our brothers who intended to fast tomorrow are now gone, or wounded. My thoughts are with every family grieving tonight. Kabul is in pain. We pray for justice.”

 Pakistan has boosted security and arrested ‌dozens of suspects as it fears rising wave of militant attacks ​following its air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan’s Junior Interior Minister ⁠said on Wednesday (February 25, 2026). “Our forces are on high-alert to combat any attacks,” the Minister, Talal Chaudhry, told Reuters. “You know the militants always react whenever we go after their hideouts in Afghanistan.” Pakistan ‌carried out air strikes on targets in Afghanistan over the weekend on what it said were militant targets responsible for a ‌spate of recent suicide bombings on Pakistani soil.

Also Read | India condemns Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan territory

Islamabad blames Kabul for ‌allowing ⁠the fighters to use Afghanistan as a safe haven. Kabul ⁠denies the charges, saying the militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.

Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along their border on Tuesday, with each side accusing the other of initiating the clash.

There have ​also been a number of ‌militant attacks, including the ambush of a police vehicle in Kohat city in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in which five officers and two civilians were killed and a suicide bombing at a checkpoint that killed two ‌policemen.

Mr. Chaudhry said the retaliatory attacks by militants proved Islamabad’s case that ​they had linkages in Afghanistan, adding that the forces had averted several attacks in recent weeks and arrested a number of ⁠suspects, including Afghans.

Security forces have accelerated search and intelligence based operations and “have arrested dozens of suspected militants, their handlers and their facilitators,” the Minister said.

Multiple sources added ‌that Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have issued alerts for a possible surge in terror attacks in Pakistan in coming days.

Urban centres, markets, security forces and places of worship could be possible targets, according to the alerts, the sources said.

“We have been given a strong caution about more terror attacks in our official communications. In this regard, we have almost doubled our search operations across ‌Pakistan,” said an intelligence official.

Another intelligence official added the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan are ​already under terror attacks and “we fear that Afghanistan will retaliate against Pakistan through terror networks in Punjab and Sindh as ⁠well.”

Militancy is a growing problem for Pakistan with the number of attacks rising every ⁠year since 2022, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a global monitoring organization.

Data from ACLED shows attacks in Pakistan rose nearly fourfold ‌to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022 and over the same period, TTP attacks increased more than seven-fold to 838 from 118.

Afghanistan has released three Pakistani soldiers who it had captured during cross-border fighting last October, its government spokesman said on Tuesday (February 17, 2026).

Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement the three, who had been captured during fighting on October 12, were turned over to a Saudi delegation that mediated between the two sides and had travelled to Kabul on Monday (February 16).

He said the release was decided upon in light of the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting and reflection.

Tension between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan has been high since deadly border clashes in October killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounded hundreds more on both sides. The violence erupted after explosions in Kabul, the Afghan capital, on October 9 that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan and vowed to avenge.

The fighting was the worst between the neighbours in recent years. A ceasefire mediated by Qatar has since eased tension, although subsequent peace talks in Istanbul failed to produce a definitive agreement and relations remain strained.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan on the release of the three soldiers.

Since closing down its border with Afghanistan, Pakistan has recorded a significant drop in cross-border terrorist attacks and deaths related to violence.

Pakistan shut its border on October 11 last year after clashes with Afghanistan, which were prompted by the allegations that Kabul was not doing enough to stop the use of its soil by terrorists.

Dawn reported from the data collected by the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), a local think-tank, that terrorist attacks went down by almost 17% in December, preceded by 9% decline in November, while terrorism-linked fatalities among civilians and security officials also fell in the last quarter of 2025, by nearly 4% and 19% each in November and December.

However, the data of CRSS showed that with an almost 34% surge in overall violence, the year 2025 went by as the most violent year for Pakistan in a decade.

The comparative data for 2024 and 2025 reveals a sharp escalation in terrorism and counter-terrorism linked violence nationwide, with fatalities rising from 2,555 in 2024 to 3,417 in 2025, marking an increase of 862 deaths, or a roughly 34% year-on-year surge in violence.

The most significant surge in violence was recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where the fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025, an absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82% of the net national rise and marking almost a 44% year-on-year surge in violence in the province.

Balochistan also had an upward trend, with fatalities increasing from 787 to 956; an additional 169 deaths, which are nearly 22% higher than the previous year’s figures.

Violence remained heavily concentrated in the country’s northwestern KP and southwestern Balochistan provinces, with both accounting for over 96% of all fatalities and almost 93% of violent incidents recorded during the entire 2025.

KP was the worst-hit region, suffering over 68% (2331) of the total violence-linked fatalities, and around 63% (795) of the incidents of violence, followed by Balochistan, accounting for 28% (956) of the fatalities and over 30% (386) of the incidents of violence.

In contrast, Punjab and Sindh experienced comparatively lower levels of violence. The former recorded 25 incidents of violence resulting in 40 fatalities and 24 injuries, representing just 1.15% of total casualties, while the latter saw 51 incidents causing 56 fatalities and 40 injuries; 1.73% of the total.

Gilgit-Baltistan remained the least affected region. Compared to last year, though small in absolute numbers, the region recorded a four-fold increase from one to four fatalities, according to the report.

Pakistan cancelled a potential military action against Afghanistan at Qatar’s request last month, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Saturday (November 29, 2025).

Mr. Dar was addressing a press conference where he talked at length about Pakistan’s concerns and expectations from Kabul.

“The Qatari Foreign Ministry came to know that we were moving towards taking action (against Afghanistan). Then Qatar requested for a solution to the problem and mediation, after which the operation that was going to be carried out that night was stopped,” Mr. Dar said, referring to tensions with Kabul last month.

He said that nothing could come out of a mediation, and Qatar was not happy that its mediation effort remained fruitless. 

“It is not appropriate to talk about a friendly country, but they (Qatar) are now upset that they got mediation done and no result could be achieved,” Mr. Dar said.

He also urged the Afghan Taliban to reconsider their policy as they were now running the country.

“The Afghan Taliban will have to reconsider their policy since they are in power. We don’t want anything from them; we are ready to do anything, but since their government came to power, our 4,000 officers and soldiers have been killed, and over 20,000 injured. So how can I say that ‘let us close our eyes (towards Afghanistan)’?”

He also warned that Pakistan has the power and capability to fix the issues of militancy emanating from Afghanistan.

“Because these (violent incidents) are not decreasing, but are increasing. It is their delusion that we cannot solve it. Allah has given Pakistan the strength to act on it and make things right, but it is also not right that we go to our brother’s house and enter and kill him,” he said.

Mr. Dar also shared details of his visits to Russia, Bahrain and other countries and stressed that peace in Afghanistan is necessary for peace in the region. “We told Afghanistan not to allow terrorism from its soil, the European Union supported Pakistan’s position on Afghanistan,” he said.

He claimed that Pakistan was sending back Afghan refugees with dignity and wished for development for the people of Afghanistan.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated amidst regular allegations by Pakistan regarding the failure of the Afghan regime to deny safe havens to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists.

The two countries had agreed on a ceasefire following tensions last month, but the Foreign Office said on Friday (November 28, 2025) that technically there was no truce as it was contingent on the Afghan Taliban stopping terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which they had failed to do.

Speaking about the conflict in Gaza, Dar said that Pakistan was ready to provide troops for Gaza, but it would not be part of efforts to disarm Hamas.

“We are not ready for that. This is not our job, but of the Palestinian law enforcement agencies. Our job is peacekeeping, not peace enforcement,” he said.

“We are definitely ready to contribute to the force — the Prime Minister has in principle already announced after consultation with the field marshal that we will contribute — but this decision cannot be taken until it is decided what its [International Stabilisation Force] mandate and TOR (terms of reference) will be.”

The establishment of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) was part of the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan, and the UN Security Council (UNSC) last week adopted a US-drafted resolution endorsing President Donald Trump’s plan to end the conflict in Gaza, which also authorises the ISF for the Palestinian enclave.

Pakistan has indicated plans to become part of the ISF and a decision is likely in the coming weeks, but it has now clarified that being part of ISF does not mean becoming part of efforts to disarm Hamas.