Islamabad / Kabul — Pakistan’s precision strikes and targeted operations on militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces, on late Friday night, eliminated scores of fighters from the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group (HGB), a faction accused by Islamabad of orchestrating attacks across the frontier.
The strikes, carried out in response to a recent suicide bombing in North Waziristan and other cross-border incidents, Pakistani officials said, have touched off an aggressive information war, with Afghan Taliban-linked accounts accusing Islamabad of targeting the civilians and even “cricketers” inside the compounds.
HGB Command Centres Struck
Security sources described the operations as intelligence-driven efforts to dismantle active militant infrastructure used to plan and launch attacks on Pakistani soil. Reportedly, the strikes and accompanying raids “neutralised” between 40 and 50 militants, including several senior HGB commanders, and destroyed facilities used to assemble vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) and prepare infiltrations.
Security sources released the names of militant commanders reportedly killed in the strikes, identifying key operatives involved in recent cross-border attacks.
Those neutralized include Commander Farman Al-Karamah, Sadiqullah Dawar, Ghazi Madakhel, Muqarrab, Qismatullah, Gulab Deewana, Rehmani, Adil, Fazlur Rehman (uncle of HGB leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur), Ashiqullah Kausar, and Younis. Identification of remaining militants is ongoing.
Pakistani officials have consistently described the operations as lawful self-defence under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, citing repeated evidence of terror networks operating from Afghan territory despite diplomatic protests.
Sources noted that the strikes were a direct response to a suicide bombing in North Waziristan on early Friday, which claimed the life of a Pakistani soldier and injured several others. The attack was reportedly carried out by Qari Jandullah, a member of the Khalid Bin Waleed suicide wing affiliated with the HGB.
Sources emphasized that the airstrikes were precise, targeting militant infrastructure while aiming to minimise civilian harm and dismantle safe havens used for cross-border terrorist operations.
Taliban-linked Outlets Accuse Pakistan of Killing Civilians, “Cricketers”
Shortly after the news of the operations spread, Afghan Taliban-affiliated media and social channels began circulating a different narrative: footage and posts alleged that civilians, including purported professional cricketers, had been killed in the strikes. The Taliban media campaign accused Pakistan of targeting non-combatants and appealed for international condemnation.
Defence analysts and independent open-source observers have pushed back against the “cricketer” claims. They challenged the provenance of the social-media material, calling it a deliberate disinformation campaign aimed at masking the identities of militants killed in the strikes.
Observers asked Taliban media to identify the alleged cricketers’ registration details and explain why professional athletes would be living inside a compound long designated by Pakistani intelligence as a terrorist base.
In some cases, posts cited as evidence of alleged civilian casualties were later contradicted by social-media activity from the individuals named, including messages appearing to show them alive, leading analysts to flag parts of the narrative as inconsistent or fabricated.
Pakistani analysts say the “cricketer” story is being used to blur the line between combatants and civilians and to delegitimise Pakistan’s counterterror measures.
Conflicting accounts, limited independent verification
Independent, on-the-ground verification remains limited. Access to the strike sites in Khost and Paktika is tightly controlled by Afghan authorities, and international media and monitoring groups have not yet published corroborating casualty counts. Taliban ministries have acknowledged explosions but have not provided a detailed casualty breakdown that is verifiable by third parties.
Human-rights monitors and journalists caution that casualty figures in such cross-border operations are often disputed and that the fog of conflict makes immediate independent confirmation difficult. They urge all parties to make available forensic evidence, lists of the deceased with identifying information, and access for impartial observers where security conditions permit.
Internal Militant Dynamics and Recent Developments in HGB Ranks
The strikes came amid reports of turbulence inside militant networks operating out of eastern Afghanistan. Pakistani open-source trackers and regional analysts noted that a senior Gul Bahadur commander, identified as Hussain (aka Commander Saifullah), was reportedly killed in an internal firing incident in Khost days before the strikes.
His funeral, local reports say, was attended by a number of Taliban and militant commanders. Analysts statements argue these developments underscore the groups’ operational presence in Afghan border provinces.
Security sources named a string of HGB and allied commanders allegedly neutralised in the recent operations, and listed other commanders said to have been wounded. According to sources, the targeted individuals were active in planning and directing attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.
Information War Escalates Alongside Kinetic Operations
The competing narratives from Islamabad and Taliban-linked outlets underscore how kinetic operations are now accompanied by intense information campaigns. Pakistani officials accused the Taliban’s media apparatus of recycling old footage, mislabelling civilians and pushing emotive stories to discredit Pakistan’s actions against the militants.
Kabul’s media wing, for its part, has sought to highlight any civilian harm, pushing the story of athletes and non-combatants to attract international scrutiny.
Analysts say disinformation risks complicating diplomatic channels at a time when Islamabad has publicly called on Kabul to take “practical and verifiable” measures against militant sanctuaries. With both sides releasing partial claims and counternarratives, the true human cost, and the identities of those killed, remain contested.
Islamabad Reiterates Demand for Afghan Action
Pakistani officials insist their actions are defensive and assert that repeated evidence of militant sanctuaries inside Afghanistan compelled them to act. Islamabad has again urged Kabul to dismantle terror bases, arrest facilitators, and cooperate on border management to prevent further escalation.
The strikes, and the propaganda that followed, mark a new phase in the uneasy Pakistan-Afghanistan dynamic, one where diplomacy, deterrence, and disinformation now converge. Islamabad maintains that peace will remain possible only when Kabul’s words are matched by verifiable action against those who target Pakistan from Afghan soil.
