---
title: 'Counter-Terror Operations Are Legitimate Self-Defense: Pakistan'
url: 'https://thediplomaticinsight.com/counter-terror-operations-legitimate-self-defense-pakistan/'
author: 'News Desk'
date: '2025-10-11T04:55:22+05:00'
categories:
  - 'Asia'
  - 'Featured'
  - 'Pakistan'
  - 'World'
---

# Counter-Terror Operations Are Legitimate Self-Defense: Pakistan

**Islamabad (TDI):** Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Friday refrained from directly confirming reports of strikes in Kabul, instead describing Islamabad’s counter-terrorism actions as acts of “legitimate self-defense” against militants operating from Afghan territory.

During the weekly press briefing, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan stressed that Pakistan’s operations were guided by credible intelligence and aimed solely at protecting its citizens from terrorist groups, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

“Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of its people,” he said, adding that Islamabad “respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty and remains committed to fostering dialogue and cooperation with our neighbour to address the shared challenges of terrorism.”

The remarks followed twin explosions in Kabul on Thursday night, which Afghan media attributed to precision airstrikes that reportedly targeted a compound and vehicle linked to the TTP. Witnesses described fighter jets overhead and bursts of automatic gunfire, according to media reports.

Reports about TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud’s fate remained unclear. While some pro-government social media accounts claimed the strike may have eliminated the militant leader, TTP-linked channels circulated an audio message purportedly from Mehsud dismissing the reports as “enemy propaganda.”

**Read More: [Pakistan Reaffirms Support for Stable Afghanistan at Moscow Meet](https://thediplomaticinsight.com/pakistan-support-for-stable-afghanistan/)**

If verified, analysts noted, the strike would mark the first known Pakistani attack inside the Afghan capital, though Pakistan has previously carried out operations against TTP targets in other parts of Afghanistan.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration of harbouring militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies. “Enough is enough, the patience of Pakistan’s government and armed forces has run out,” Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said earlier this week in parliament.

At a simultaneous news conference in Peshawar, military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also stopped short of confirming the Kabul strikes but reiterated Pakistan’s right to defend itself. “Afghanistan is being used as a base for terrorism against Pakistan, and there is evidence to support this,” he said.

In response, the Afghan defense ministry accused Pakistan of violating its sovereignty, claiming that Pakistani aircraft had struck a civilian market in Paktika and “violated the airspace of Kabul.”

The Foreign Office also declined to comment on the recent agreement between India and Afghanistan to reopen their long-closed embassies, a development that marks New Delhi’s first high-level engagement with the Taliban government since 2021.

**Read More: [Pakistan Reopens Angoor Adda Border Crossing with Afghanistan](https://thediplomaticinsight.com/pak-reopen-angood-adda-border-with-afg/)**

“This is a bilateral matter between Afghanistan and India,” FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said. “Afghanistan is a sovereign and independent country, and we have no specific comment to offer.”

He added that Pakistan’s consistent position has been that while Afghanistan has the right to pursue an independent foreign policy, its territory must not be used against Pakistan under any circumstances.