Pakistan launches military operation near Afghan border, displacing tens of thousands World Aug 12, 2025 2:33 PM EDT

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security forces have launched a “targeted operation” against militants in a restive northwestern district bordering Afghanistan, displacing tens of thousands of residents who fled to safer areas, officials said Tuesday.

There was no formal announcement of the launch of the offensive in Bajaur, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but a government administrator, Saeed Ullah, said it was not a large-scale operation and only insurgent hideouts were being hit to avoid civilian casualties.

Another government administrator, Shahhid Ali, said the number of displaced people had rapidly increased to nearly 1

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