Pakistan has conducted air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan that were reportedly used to store and launch drones involved in cross-border attacks. The strikes took place on Thursday in the southeastern province of Khost, as tensions escalate between the two countries due to armed group attacks in Pakistan, which have led to increased violence since February.
Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring fighters responsible for these attacks, while the Taliban government in Afghanistan denies these claims, stating that the issue is an internal problem for Pakistan.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar characterized the air strikes as 'deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate,' emphasizing that they were aimed at military objectives linked to the attacks against Pakistan. He condemned what he termed a 'deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones' on Wednesday, labeling it a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.
Taliban officials have denied that their government was responsible for launching drones against Pakistan on Wednesday. According to Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Khost governor, the air strikes targeted several areas in Khost province. A resident in Kandahar reported hearing a jet followed by a large explosion in the city, indicating that an air strike had occurred there as well.
Recent violence has reignited tensions, particularly following an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week that resulted in at least 21 fatalities. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack. Additionally, air strikes in northeastern Afghanistan on Monday reportedly killed three civilians in Kunar province, while Pakistan stated that it had killed 28 'terrorists.'
This escalation in conflict poses a threat to ongoing mediation efforts by China, Turkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia aimed at achieving lasting peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Relations between the two countries have been increasingly strained since the fighting in February, which marked the worst violence in years.