Pakistan launches military operation along north-western border with Afghanistan

Pakistani security forces have launched a targeted military operation against militant hideouts in Bajaur, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, officials confirmed Tuesday.

While there has been no formal announcement of the offensive, local administrators said the operation is aimed at insurgent strongholds to minimise civilian casualties. “It is not a large-scale campaign — only militant hideouts are being targeted,” said Saeed Ullah, a senior government official in Bajaur.

The number of displaced people has surged to nearly 100,000, according to another official, Shahhid Ali. Provincial authorities have pledged 50,000 rupees (about $175) in compensation to each displaced family, while volunteers from the Al-Khidmat Foundation have begun distributing food aid.

Among those uprooted is 50-year-old Gul Wali, who said this was the second time he had been forced to leave his home.

“We were told we will return soon, but most houses in my village were destroyed in the 2009 operation,” he said from a government-run shelter. “We don’t know what will happen to our homes this time.”

Residents reported helicopter-backed strikes on militant positions in the mountainous Mamund area along the Afghan border. Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed confirmed that operations were ongoing, but no details were available on casualties among security forces or militants.

Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have intensified activity in the region in recent months, officials said. Bajaur, once a TTP stronghold, was the focus of a major military campaign in 2009 that displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Authorities declared victory the following year, allowing residents to return.