Pakistan’s quiet military success

OPINION:

While the U.S. stands on the verge of resuming Operation Epic Fury, Pakistan continues to conduct its own combat operations across the Durand Line into Afghanistan.

Under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (“Wrath for Justice”), Islamabad is conducting precision strikes into Afghanistan, targeting Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan sanctuaries and Taliban facilitators, achieving clear tactical success while attempting to minimize civilian casualties.

The operation highlights Pakistan’s growing capability to conduct military operations against cross-border threats. Pakistan recognizes that military operations alone will be insufficient, unlike the U.S. operations, which rely far more on blunt force and overwhelming combat power.

Both Epic Fury and Ghazab lil-Haq reflect a broader lesson in modern conflict. Military action on its own is insufficient to achieve submission or even concessions from an enemy. Wartime goals are more likely to be achieved when paired with sustained political, economic and diplomatic action.

While the United States has demonstrated that precision operations can achieve battlefield dominance, Pakistan seeks to translate similar momentum into long-term regional stability.

Islamabad’s campaign has been carefully framed as limited, targeted and transparent. Officials emphasize that it is directed only at militant networks operating from Afghan territory and that they have no intention of regime change in Kabul.

With more than 180 militant sites destroyed and more than 30 staging areas neutralized, the campaign has effectively degraded hostile networks with a minimum of civilian casualties. By contrast, reports of significant civilian casualties in Iran have worked against U.S. claims of surgical strikes limited to military targets.

Pakistan recognizes that true stability needs to extend beyond the battlefield. Insurgent economies rely on porous borders, weak governance and illicit trade networks. Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to strengthen border management and coordinate with regional partners can help dismantle these structural enablers of militancy, turning battlefield successes into longer-term stability.

Equally notable is Islamabad’s emphasis on isolating combat operations from civilian population centers to maintain legitimacy and trust. Its strategic information operations continue to emphasize that Afghanistan’s political future belongs to Afghans themselves, signaling respect for sovereignty even as it takes firm defensive measures.

Sustaining these gains requires broader collaboration. Civilian agencies, local communities and regional institutions all have roles to play. By advancing the national action plan, investing in civilian counterterrorism capacity and depoliticizing internal security structures, Pakistan can ensure that military progress evolves into national resilience.

The military’s professionalism, as dictated by Field Marshal Asim Munir, has created valuable space for diplomacy and governance to take root rather than for the military to take the lead. A common complaint in U.S. operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq is that the military overwhelms the processes and consigns the diplomats and other government specialists to “the end of the table.”

Operation Ghazab lil-Haq represents not only tactical expertise but also a strategic opening. If combined with political outreach and institutional reform, then the region of Afghanistan along the Durand Line can enjoy a measure of stability.

Pakistan is culturally, diplomatically and geographically positioned to encourage dialogue and governance and help close the cycle of conflict that has long defined the border region.

Although many in the U.S. would simply dismiss these plans as American counterinsurgency models that have proved unsuccessful in the past 25 years, the foundation of Ghazab lil-Haq is to build on the historical and cultural affinity among the people along the Durand Line.

As the U.S. and Israel attempt to achieve their objectives primarily through coercive force of arms and Iran continues to embrace a resistance model that emphasizes resilience and patience, Pakistan’s more balanced approach of military action, diplomacy and civic action can serve as an alternative.

Pakistan’s model is decisive in military action, but it recognizes that wars end at the negotiating table. The challenge now is to sustain the momentum, to pair operational success with political vision.

If done right, Operation Ghazab lil-Haq could mark a successful campaign and the beginning of a more confident Pakistan leading regional stability efforts.

• Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt (retired) is a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Near East and South Asia and former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs.