Pakistan on High Alert After Air Strikes, Arrests Dozens Over Militant Threat

Pakistan has stepped up nationwide security and arrested dozens of suspects amid fears of retaliatory militant attacks following recent air strikes in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.

“Our forces are on high alert to counter any attacks,” Junior Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry told Reuters. “Militants usually react when we target their hideouts in Afghanistan.”

Pakistan carried out air strikes over the weekend, saying the targets were militant bases linked to recent suicide bombings inside the country. Islamabad has accused Kabul of allowing militants to use Afghan territory as a safe haven—an allegation Afghanistan denies, calling militancy Pakistan’s internal issue.

Tensions escalated on Tuesday when Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along the border, with both sides blaming the other for starting the clash.

Security officials reported a surge in militant violence in recent days. In one incident, five police officers and two civilians were killed when a police vehicle was ambushed in Kohat, in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Two policemen were also killed in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint.

Chaudhry said the attacks supported Pakistan’s claim that militants have links across the border. He added that security forces had foiled several planned attacks and detained many suspects, including Afghan nationals.

Search and intelligence-based operations have been intensified nationwide. “Dozens of suspected militants, their handlers and facilitators have been arrested,” the minister said.

Multiple intelligence sources said alerts have been issued warning of possible attacks on urban centres, markets, security forces and places of worship in the coming days. Operations have been expanded, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with concerns that violence could spread to Punjab and Sindh.

Militant attacks in Pakistan have increased sharply since 2022, according to data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). The group reports that attacks rose to 2,425 in 2025 from 658 in 2022. Attacks by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also surged during this period.

Meanwhile, the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said 34 terrorists were killed in recent operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

ISPR said 26 militants linked to Fitna Al Khwarij—a term used by the state for TTP members—were killed in four separate encounters in KP on February 24. Another eight militants belonging to Fitna Al Hindustan were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Sambaza area.

The military said weapons and ammunition were recovered, and sanitisation operations were continuing to eliminate remaining threats.

President Asif Ali Zardari praised the security forces for their operations, saying the results reflected their professionalism. He urged continued action against terrorism in line with the national security vision of Azm-i-Istehkam.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also paid tribute to the forces, reaffirming the government’s commitment to eradicate terrorism. Earlier this week, security forces killed nine militants, including a suicide bomber, in separate operations in KP and Balochistan.