Pakistan defended its recent counter-terrorism airstrikes in Afghanistan's Paktika province, emphasizing their intelligence-based operations and commitment to civilian safety and Afghan sovereignty. They called for joint efforts with Afghanistan to combat threats like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) through dialogue and diplomacy.

On Wednesday, the Pakistani military said security forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight operation in an intelligence-based operation in South Waziristan.

Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border region of Afghanistan killed 46 civilians, the Taliban government said Wednesday, whilst a Pakistan security official said the bombardment had targeted "terrorist hideouts".