Pakistan Reports Foiling Border Attack, Killing 37 Militants in Khyber
Pakistan’s security forces said they successfully foiled a major militant assault on a border post in the Ghulam Khan Sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, claiming that 37 attackers were killed and more than 80 others wounded in the overnight operation, according to Dawn News.
According to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, the attempted attack took place during the night of April 2–3 near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Officials said the assault was carried out by militants linked to the Afghan Taliban and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group long blamed for cross-border violence and insurgent attacks inside Pakistan.
In an official statement shared on X, Tarar said the militants tried to storm the border post but were “comprehensively foiled” by Pakistani forces. He described the clash as a significant security success, saying the attackers suffered heavy casualties.
The incident comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing military campaign, Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, which was launched in late February following what Islamabad described as repeated cross-border firing and militant activity originating from Afghan territory. The operation was temporarily paused in March at the request of several allied Islamic countries before resuming days later with renewed intensity.
Officials further claimed that, as of Sunday evening, the broader operation has resulted in 796 militants and Afghan Taliban-linked operatives killed, with more than 1,043 injured. Pakistani authorities also reported the destruction of 286 militant posts and the capture of 44 others, alongside the destruction of armored vehicles, artillery systems, and drones.
Tarar added that Pakistani forces had carried out air strikes on 81 locations allegedly linked to militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan.
The latest confrontation underscores the fragile and tense security situation along the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The region has long remained a flashpoint, with both sides repeatedly accusing each other of allowing militants to operate from their soil. Independent verification of casualty figures remains difficult because of the remote and highly sensitive nature of the border area.
