A dangerous escalation has erupted between Afghanistan and Pakistan following yesterday’s Pakistani Air Force airstrikes on Afghan territory. Pakistan’s security forces announced that at least 29 armed fighters were killed in coordinated ground and air operations along the shared border. Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities reported that at least 38 civilians were killed—and 163 injured, including women and children—in the same airstrikes.
Targeted Strikes and Contradictory Claims
Yesterday’s operation marks Pakistan’s second major airstrike campaign against alleged militant hideouts inside Afghanistan since late last year—sites Islamabad claims are used by terrorist groups, including the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), which operates from Afghan soil. Information Minister Ataullah Tarar confirmed via X that joint ground and air operations targeted locations in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar. According to Tarar, three ‘targets’ were destroyed, killing 25 militants and seizing or destroying ‘large quantities’ of weapons and ammunition.
In a separate ground operation in the Bajaur region and the northern border district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, four additional TTP-linked fighters—including members of the splinter group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar—were reportedly killed.
Civilian Toll Mounts
However, Hamdullah Fitrat, spokesperson for the de facto Afghan government, gave a starkly different account: 38 civilians killed and 163 wounded across multiple strikes. The deadliest single incident occurred in Paktia province, where Pakistani fighter jets struck a residential compound—killing 28 civilians and injuring 158, according to Fitrat.
Deepening Regional Tensions
Pakistan—a nuclear-armed state—and Afghanistan—now under Taliban rule since August 2021—have exchanged cross-border attacks since late last year. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring extremists who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban-led authorities deny providing sanctuary to such groups.
Although a temporary ceasefire had been declared earlier this year, Pakistan declared an ‘open war’ in late February and has since launched a series of deadly airstrikes—including near Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital—signaling a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations and raising fears of wider regional instability.