Pakistan Cross-Border Airstrikes in Afghanistan Trigger Border Clash as Islamabad Cites TTP Sanctuaries and India-Taliban Drift

Pakistan’s February 22 cross-border airstrikes in Afghanistan—justified as targeting TTP sanctuaries after major attacks inside Pakistan—produced sharply contested casualty claims, triggered a February 24 border exchange of fire, and pulled India into the narrative battle, further stressing an already fragile Pakistan–Taliban ceasefire amid intensifying domestic militancy pressure.