Pakistan announced on Thursday that it had conducted air strikes on ten locations in Afghanistan, stating the targets were used to store and launch drones involved in cross-border attacks. The military operation comes amid heightened tensions between the two nations, which recently experienced their most severe fighting in years following clashes in February.
Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesperson for the governor of Khost province, confirmed that the strikes occurred in several areas within southeastern Afghanistan. He reported that no casualties resulted from the attacks.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar defended the military action on the social media platform X, describing the strikes as “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate.” He emphasized that the operation was strictly limited to identified military objectives directly associated with the attempted attacks against Pakistan. Tarar also condemned what he termed a “deliberate and unlawful incursion” by drones into Pakistani territory on Wednesday, labeling it a grave act of aggression and a blatant violation of the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The escalation follows a deadly attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week, which killed at least 21 people. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast and the subsequent gun battle, reigniting hostilities after approximately three months of relative calm.
Earlier this week, Afghan officials reported that Pakistani air strikes targeting three locations in the Nurgal district of Kunar province killed three civilians. Islamabad stated that 28 “terrorists” were eliminated in those strikes.
Diplomatic relations between the two former allies have remained strained since the February conflict. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring fighters who stage cross-border attacks, a claim the Taliban government in Afghanistan denies. Kabul maintains that the armed groups are an internal matter for Pakistan. The current violence threatens ongoing mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which aim to broker a lasting peace between the neighbors.
This is troubling. The civilian toll in Kunar is already disputed. More strikes won’t solve the trust deficit.
Calibrated and proportionate? Seems like a risky escalation. With drone incursions becoming routine, where does it end?