Pakistan Army Chief Says Militant Safe Havens in Afghanistan Have Backfired Amid Strike Disputes

Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir stated that militant safe havens in Afghanistan have produced the opposite of their intended effect, increasing domestic security threats within Pakistan. Speaking on the country’s military posture, Munir reiterated that operations against militant networks will continue and intensify, including the ongoing campaign known as Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq.

Pakistani military authorities have accused the Taliban of harboring armed groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, allegations that the Taliban has consistently denied. In response to international and local reports of civilian casualties from recent cross-border strikes, Pakistan’s military dismissed the figures as propaganda, asserting that its operations are precise and exclusively target militant infrastructure.

The Taliban disputes these assertions. Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat stated that recent Pakistani strikes in the Dangam district of Kunar province struck civilian homes, resulting in three deaths and fourteen injuries. Separately, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed that at least 269 civilians were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul on March 16.

Despite multiple rounds of official negotiations and informal discussions, diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the Taliban remain strained. Both sides acknowledge persistent cross-border security challenges and ongoing militant activity along the shared frontier. As military operations continue, conflicting accounts regarding strike targets and civilian tolls underscore the deep divisions in how both governments assess the security situation.