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OVER 80 TERRORISTS KILLED IN RETALIATORY AIRSTRIKES ON 7 CAMPS ALONG PAK-AFGHANISTAN BORDER Monday, 23 February, 2026 | 5 Ramazan, 1447
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OPERATION TARGETS FITNA AL-KHAWARIJ AND ISKP TERRORISTS BEHIND RECENT ATTACKS IN ISLAMABAD, BAJAUR, AND BANNU
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SECURITY SOURCES SAY OVER 80 TERRORISTS CONFIRMED KILLED, MORE EXPECTED AND DESCRIBE STRIKES AS INTELLIGENCE-LED, PROPORTIONATE RETRIBUTION
PAKISTAN CALLS ON AFGHAN TALIBAN AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO PREVENT USE OF AFGHAN SOIL FOR TERROR ATTACKS
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ISLAMABAD
staff report
AKISTANI airstrikes killed “more than 80 terrorists” and destroyed “seven seven terrorist camps and hideouts at the border region of PakistanAfghan border, in a retaliatory operation against groups responsible for recent suicide bombings inside Pakistan, according to security sources on Sunday. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of Pakistan confirmed via X (formerly Twitter) that the strikes targeted seven terrorist hideouts and training centres belonging to [Fitna al-Khawarij,] a term used by the state for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and its affiliates, including the [Islamic State Khorasan Province] (ISKP). The airstrikes followed a spate of recent attacks: the Imam Bargah bombing in Islamabad, assaults in Bajaur and Bannu, and another attack in Bannu on Saturday during the holy month of Ramazan, according to the statement. According to the security forces’ statement, released Sunday evening, “Last night, Pakistan’s intelligence-based airstrikes destroyed seven centres of Fitna al-Khawarij (TTP) in three provinces of Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost, in which more than 80 Khawarij have been confirmed killed, while more are expected.”
Security forces identified the targeted centres as: New Centre No. 1 and No. 2, Nangarhar; Khwariji Maulvi Abbas Centre, Khost; Khwariji Islam Centre, Nangarhar; Khwariji Ibrahim Centre, Nangarhar and Khwariji Mullah Rahbar and Khwariji Mukhlis Yar, Paktika “Pakistan has conclusive evidence that these acts of terrorism were orchestrated by Afghan-based handlers of Fitna al-Khawarij and ISKP,” the ministry said. “The action was a retributive response, based on intelligence-led selective targeting, prioritizing the safety of our citizens.” The action was taken, “in the aftermath of recent suicide bombing incidents in Pakistan, including Imam Bargah at Islamabad, one each in Bajaur and Bannu, followed by another incident today in
Bannu during the holy month of Ramazan,” the information ministry’s statement said. “Pakistan has conclusive evidence that these acts of terrorism were perpetrated by Khwarij on the behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers. Responsibilities for these attacks were also claimed by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna al Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, and Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP),” the statement said. The statement asserted that “Pakistan has always strived for maintaining peace and stability in the region, but at the same time, the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority”, adding that the action against the seven camps and hideouts was “a retributive response”, carried out based on “intelligence-based selec-
KABUL CLAIMS CIVILIAN CASUALTIES; PAKISTAN CALLS IT ‘FALSE AND MALICIOUS’ NARRATIVE
tive targeting”. “Despite repeated efforts by Pakistan to urge the Afghan Taliban Regime to take verifiable measures to deny use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups and foreign proxies to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban Regime failed to undertake any substantive action against them,” the statement noted. “Pakistan expects and reiterates [that the] Interim Afghan Government […] fulfil its obligations and deny use of its soil by Khwarij and terrorists against Pakistan, as the safety and security of people of Pakistan comes first and foremost. Pakistan also expects the international community to play a positive and constructive role by urging the Taliban regime to stand by its commitments as part of [the] Doha Agreement to deny use of its soil against other countries; an act vital for regional and global peace and security,” the statement added. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, in a post on X, stated that the strikes by the “Pakistan Air Force were retribution for the innocent lives lost to terrorism”. He maintained that the strikes were an “answer to the tears of every mother who has sacrificed her son for the homeland”. Chaudhry issued a stern warning, stating that while “Pakistan desired peace, it would not make compromises on its safety, land, and people”.
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Pakistan, 13 other nations ‘Average Rate is 4%’: Finance Ministry rejects condemn US envoy’s claims of 8% interest on external debt ance-of-payments pressures. Successive remarks supporting ISLAMABAD governments have turned to multilateral and bilateral lenders, including the InterIsraeli expansion The Finance Ministry of Pakistan on national Monetary Fund, World Bank, saleem jadoon
ISLAMABAD agencies
Pakistan and 13 other nations, have condemned the remarks made by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, where he suggested that he would not be opposed to Tel Aviv taking over large swathes of the Middle East, the Foreign Office said on Sunday. Huckabee made the remarks in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Friday, where the envoy asserted that Israel’s borders are based on the Bible when questioned about the country’s current boundaries. In response, Carlson noted that the biblical verse included the region between the Euphrates River in Iraq and the Nile in Egypt. To this, Huckabee, who is a staunch pro-Israel conservative, said, “It would be fine if they (Israel) took it all”. In a joint-statement issued today, the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Kuwait, Oman, Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, along with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the League of Arab States (LAS), and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), expressed “profound concern” regarding Huckabee’s statement. “They affirm their countries’ categorical rejection of such dangerous and inflammatory remarks, which constitute a flagrant violation of the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and pose a grave threat to the security and stability of the region,” the statement said.
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Sunday dismissed as “misleading” recent reports claiming that Pakistan is paying up to 8 percent interest on external loans, clarifying that the overall average cost of external public debt is around 4 percent. In a clarification, the ministry said media coverage of the country’s external debt and associated interest payments required contextual explanation to ensure an accurate understanding of Pakistan’s debt profile. “Pakistan’s total external debt and liabilities currently stand at $138 billion. This figure includes a broad mix of obligations such as public and publicly guaranteed debt, debt of Public Sector Enterprises (both guaranteed and nonguaranteed), bank borrowings, privatesector external debt, and intercompany liabilities to direct investors,” the statement said. “It is therefore important to distinguish this aggregate figure from External Public (Government) Debt, which amounts to approximately $92 billion.” The ministry noted that Pakistan has long relied on external loans to bridge persistent gaps in public finances and foreign exchange reserves, driven by a narrow tax base, chronic trade deficits, rising debt-servicing costs, and repeated bal-
and Asian Development Bank, to support budgetary needs and strengthen reserves. Of the total External Public Debt, nearly 75 percent comes from concessional and long-term financing obtained from multilateral institutions (excluding the IMF) and bilateral development partners. Only about 7 percent consists of commercial loans, and another 7 percent relates to long-term Eurobonds. “In light of this composition, the claim that Pakistan is paying interest of ‘up to 8 percent’ is misleading. The overall average cost of External Public Debt is approximately 4 percent, reflecting the predominantly concessional nature of the borrowing portfolio,” the ministry added. Regarding interest payments, public external debt interest outflows rose from $1.99 billion in FY2022 to $3.59 billion in FY2025, representing an increase of 80.4 percent, not 84 percent as previously reported. In absolute terms, interest payments increased by $1.60 billion, not $1.67 billion. According to State Bank of Pakistan records, debt servicing payments during this period included: IMF: $1.50 billion total, $580 million interest
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Key militant commander killed as CTD team ambushed in Bannu BANNU
staff report
A Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) team was ambushed by militants in Bannu on Sunday, leading to a gun battle in which a key militant commander was killed. According to CTD officials, the investigation team was on its way to identify the crime scene related to an attack on North Waziristan Assistant Commissioner Shah Wali Khan, when armed militants launched an assault to free a detained commander. During the exchange of fire, the detained militant commander, identified as Usama alias Daniyal alias Baghi, was killed. Authorities said he was an active member and alleged mastermind of a newly formed militant outfit, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan. Officials further stated that another militant, identified as Kamyab Khan alias Ikhlas Yar, a resident of Kabul Khel Shewa in North Waziristan, was also killed in retaliatory firing. Security forces recovered a Kalashnikov rifle, two magazines, and two hand grenades from the deceased militant. The attackers reportedly fled the scene while taking their injured accomplices with them.
Search on as gunmen snatch nine laborers in twin Balochistan abductions QUETTA
staff report
Unidentified gunmen abducted nine laborers from two separate construction sites in Balochistan late Saturday, police and government officials said on Sunday, as security forces launched search operations to secure their safe recovery. According to police, the first incident occurred on Saturday night in the mountainous district of Khuzdar, where armed men stormed a water channel construction site.
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