Pakistan Launches Air Strikes in Afghanistan Amid Rising Border Tensions

Pakistan carried out air strikes across Afghanistan, including Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, targeting military sites. Afghan officials reported no casualties, while Pakistan claimed 133 Afghan soldiers were killed and over 200 wounded, along with the destruction of military posts and vehicles. Earlier border clashes left eight Afghan and two Pakistani soldiers dead. The escalation follows previous strikes and ongoing tensions, with Pakistan accusing militants of operating from Afghan territory—a claim Kabul denies. The UN urged both sides to seek a diplomatic resolution.

Pakistan’s military has carried out air strikes across several regions of Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul as well as Kandahar and Paktia provinces, according to a statement from an Afghan government spokesman. The Afghan authorities said Pakistani forces targeted “certain areas,” with multiple large-scale explosions reported in central Kabul at approximately 02:30 local time. While Afghan officials claimed that there were no casualties from these strikes, Pakistani authorities provided a significantly different account.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for the Pakistani Prime Minister, stated that the counterstrikes resulted in the deaths of 133 Afghan soldiers and left more than 200 others wounded. He further claimed that Pakistani forces had destroyed 27 Afghan military posts, two corps headquarters, and over 80 tanks and armored vehicles. Security sources in Pakistan added that an ammunition depot and a logistics base were also destroyed during the strikes in Kandahar.
Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry confirmed that retaliatory operations by Afghan forces targeting Pakistani positions along the Durand Line had concluded by midnight. Earlier on Thursday, clashes along the border had resulted in the deaths of at least eight Afghan soldiers and two Pakistani soldiers during a four-hour engagement.
The recent escalation follows Pakistani air strikes carried out last week, which Islamabad said targeted 70 “terrorists,” though the United Nations reported that civilians were among the casualties. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the ongoing clashes. His spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, urged the relevant parties to adhere to their obligations under international law and to pursue a diplomatic solution to the tensions.
Relations between the two countries have worsened amid accusations by Pakistan that militants are operating from Afghan territory, a claim that Kabul has consistently rejected. The recent military actions underscore the fragility of security along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and highlight the continuing risk of further escalation in the region.