Pakistani security forces reported ongoing cross-border fire in an escalation of fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan. On Friday, Pakistani sources indicated that several Afghan Taliban members were killed in intermittent exchanges of fire in the Gulistan area of the border. The fighting is reported to be ongoing, with no official confirmation from either country involved.
The Afghan government stated on Thursday that it would provide an "appropriate response" to Pakistani airstrikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan earlier that day. These strikes were described by Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar as a response to a "deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones" on Wednesday. Tarar claimed that Pakistan’s aerial and drone attacks targeted "terrorist hideouts and support infrastructure including drone launching and storage sites," and he shared a video purportedly showing the military strikes on Afghan sites.
Afghanistan’s government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, reported that the airstrikes affected the provinces of Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost. Taliban officials denied that their government had launched drones against Pakistan on Wednesday.
The air raids occurred amid rising tensions between the two countries, which have seen their worst fighting in years since February due to attacks by armed groups in Pakistan. Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring fighters responsible for cross-border attacks, while Afghanistan’s government denies this, asserting that the attacks are an internal issue for Pakistan.
This escalation poses a threat to mediation efforts by China, Turkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia aimed at establishing lasting peace between the two nations.