New Delhi: Pakistan said on Thursday that it had carried out aerial and drone strikes on 10 sites inside Afghanistan that it claimed were used to launch and store drones after eight alleged incursions a day earlier, deepening tensions between the neighbours. Pakistan’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, said the operation was limited to identified military objectives linked to the attempted attacks, but the nature of the targets and Pakistan’s account of the drone launches have not been independently verified.
Pakistani officials said security forces had neutralized eight rudimentary drones allegedly launched from Afghan territory before they could enter Kohat and the Torkham border area. They said the episode followed an attempted cross-border infiltration by militants and accused Afghan Taliban forces of firing mortars and other heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts. The Taliban government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, had denied a day earlier that Afghan Taliban forces carried out attacks against Pakistan.
Pakistan said its forces responded to the alleged border fire with artillery targeting Taliban border posts, mortar sites and defensive positions before carrying out the strikes inside Afghanistan early Thursday. Tarar said the 10 targeted sites were linked to the alleged drone operations and accused Kabul of failing to act against militant networks that Islamabad says operate from Afghan territory. There was no immediate response from Kabul to the latest strikes.
As RNA Media reported earlier, Pakistan said its fighter jets struck targets in Paktika and Kunar on Monday, killing 28 militants. That figure has not been independently verified; Afghan authorities said three civilians were killed and four injured, while the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) confirmed the civilian casualties. Kabul summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in protest over what it called a violation of Afghan sovereignty.
India also condemned the strikes in Kunar, saying civilian casualties had been reported and describing the action as counter to regional peace and stability.
The escalation followed the September 18 assault on a police compound and mosque in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least 21 people were killed and more than 100 wounded before a prolonged security operation ended about 20 hours later. Shura Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen later claimed responsibility for the attack, while Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) denied involvement.
The TTP remains at the centre of the wider dispute. Islamabad accuses its leaders and fighters of operating from Afghan territory and has demanded action against militant sanctuaries and support networks, while Kabul rejects the accusation and says militancy inside Pakistan is an internal matter. The TTP and the Afghan Taliban are separate organizations, although they have longstanding ties.
The current cycle of hostilities intensified in February, when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in their heaviest fighting in years. China carried out shuttle diplomacy in March and later hosted talks in Urumqi, while Turkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have also been involved in efforts to mediate between the two sides. The latest exchange has renewed pressure on those diplomatic channels as attention turns to further cross-border incidents, key border crossings and efforts to return Kabul and Islamabad to talks.