Pakistan Strikes 10 Locations In Afghanistan As Cross-Border Tensions Escalate

Pakistan says it has carried out airstrikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan that it claims were used to store and launch drones involved in attacks against Pakistan. The strikes came after Islamabad accused Afghanistan-based armed groups of carrying out cross-border attacks, while the Taliban government denies supporting such groups. Afghan officials have reported civilian casualties from recent Pakistani strikes, while Pakistan says it targeted militants. The escalation threatens a fragile period of calm and ongoing mediation efforts by China, Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to improve relations between the two neighbours

PAKISTAN CARRIES OUT STRIKES IN AFGHANISTAN

Pakistan says it has carried out air and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan that it says were being used to store and launch drones involved in attacks on Pakistani territory.
The strikes took place early Thursday as tensions between the two neighbouring countries intensified following a series of cross-border attacks.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the military action followed what Islamabad described as a drone incursion from Afghanistan on Wednesday.
Pakistan said its air-defence systems detected, tracked and neutralised the drones before they reached their intended targets. The government described the subsequent strikes as an exercise of its right to self-defence.

STRIKES REPORTED IN KHОST, PAKTIA AND KANDAHAR

Afghan officials reported strikes in several areas, including Khost and Paktia in eastern Afghanistan.
Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesman for the Khost governor, said Pakistani aircraft struck several locations in the province but initially reported no casualties there.
Local sources also reported an airstrike in Kandahar, a major southern Afghan city and the base of the Taliban government's supreme leader.
A Kandahar resident told AFP that they heard a jet before a large explosion and saw a fire in the city.
Pakistan later confirmed that its forces had struck 10 locations, describing them as military targets connected to drone operations.

PAKISTAN SAYS TARGETS WERE MILITARY SITES

Tarar said the strikes were carefully limited to what Pakistan described as identified military objectives.
He said the targets were directly linked to attempted attacks against Pakistan and described the operation as deliberate, precise and proportionate.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused armed groups operating from Afghan territory of carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.
The Pakistani government says it has repeatedly raised concerns with the Taliban authorities about what it considers militant sanctuaries and support networks operating from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan, however, rejects the accusation that its government allows anti-Pakistani armed groups to operate from its territory.

AFGHANISTAN REPORTS CIVILIAN DEATHS

Afghan authorities have disputed Pakistan's account of the strikes.
Reuters reported that Afghan officials said four civilians were killed in the latest attacks, although casualty information has varied across locations and remained under development.
The latest reports come only days after Pakistani strikes in Kunar province.
Afghan officials and the United Nations said three civilians were killed in those earlier strikes, while Pakistan said its operation killed 28 people it described as militants.
The differing accounts demonstrate the difficulty of independently verifying events in areas affected by the conflict.

TALIBAN DENIES LAUNCHING DRONES

Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have denied that their government launched drones against Pakistan.
The Taliban government has also rejected Islamabad's accusations that Afghanistan is being used as a base for attacks against Pakistan.
Kabul has instead accused Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty through repeated airstrikes.
The latest strikes therefore risk creating another cycle of accusations and military retaliation between the two countries.

DEADLY ATTACKS HAVE FUELLED THE ESCALATION

The latest escalation follows a deadly attack on a police facility in Pakistan's north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
At least 21 people were killed in the attack, which involved a suicide bomber and subsequent fighting at the security compound.
Militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, have been blamed for attacks inside Pakistan, while Islamabad has accused groups operating from Afghanistan of providing support for such violence.
Pakistan has repeatedly demanded that the Taliban government prevent armed groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks across the border.

FEBRUARY FIGHTING REMAINS A MAJOR TURNING POINT

The current crisis follows the serious fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan in February, which was among the worst clashes between the two countries in years.
The fighting involved Pakistani airstrikes and retaliatory actions along the border and caused significant civilian casualties.
Although the two sides subsequently reached a ceasefire and experienced a period of relative calm, the underlying dispute over armed groups has remained unresolved.
The renewed attacks are now threatening to undo that fragile period of calm.

PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY HOSTILE

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated considerably despite the countries' historical ties.
Pakistan was once an important regional partner of the Taliban, but relations have become increasingly strained since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
At the centre of the dispute is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an armed group that is separate from Afghanistan's Taliban government but shares ideological and historical links with it.
Pakistan says TTP fighters use Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks.
The Taliban government denies providing them with a safe haven and has repeatedly argued that Pakistan's militant violence is an internal security problem.

CHINA, TÜRKİYE AND OTHER COUNTRIES SEEK TO MEDIATE

The escalation also threatens diplomatic efforts aimed at preventing another prolonged conflict.
China, Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been involved in diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The latest strikes could make those efforts more difficult if either side responds with further military action.
A sustained conflict would also have consequences for communities living along the lengthy and often heavily militarised border.

BORDER COMMUNITIES FACE THE GREATEST RISK

Repeated airstrikes, militant attacks and border clashes have placed civilians in affected areas under growing pressure.
People living in border provinces face the risk of displacement, disrupted trade and transport, and damage to homes and infrastructure.
The conflicting casualty figures also underline the difficulties faced by civilians and humanitarian organisations attempting to assess the impact of the violence.

A DANGEROUS NEW PHASE

Pakistan's latest strikes represent another major escalation in its confrontation with Afghanistan's Taliban government.
Islamabad says it is responding to attacks launched from Afghan territory and insists that its strikes are directed at military targets.
Kabul rejects those claims and has condemned the attacks as violations of Afghan sovereignty.
With both sides maintaining sharply different accounts of the conflict, and diplomatic efforts already under pressure, the latest strikes could further destabilise relations between the neighbours and increase the risk of additional cross-border violence.