Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have reported launching attacks on positions along the shared border with Pakistan, resulting in injuries to several individuals in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province.
Pakistan’s military responded by stating it downed four basic drones during the incident and issued a warning that any additional provocations would face a strong countermeasure. Independent verification of the reported attack remains unavailable.
The development follows Pakistan’s airstrikes inside Afghanistan on Sunday, which the United Nations indicated killed 28 civilians. Tensions between the neighboring nations have flared again after a period of relative quiet, following a ceasefire agreement reached in October after earlier deadly exchanges.
Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that Afghanistan provides shelter to militants conducting operations on its territory, an assertion firmly denied by the Taliban-led government. In response, Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of launching unprovoked assaults that primarily harm civilians, while Pakistan maintains that its actions focus solely on militant targets.
According to Afghan accounts, Sunday’s Pakistani operation struck civilian residences, producing a death toll of 36 people and more than 160 injuries. The Taliban government labeled the strikes a “cowardly act” and an “atrocity.”
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Pakistan described its efforts as a coordinated ground and air campaign aimed at militant safe havens in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar noted that the actions resulted in the deaths of 29 militants, carried out in direct response to recent terrorist incidents affecting civilians. Neither side’s casualty figures have received independent confirmation.
Cross-border incidents involving clashes and airstrikes have claimed dozens of lives in recent months, as reported by officials from both countries. Previous escalations include February clashes that killed numerous people, a March strike on a facility in Kabul that caused heavy casualties, and June airstrikes that Pakistan said targeted militants but which Afghan sources reported also killed civilians, including children.
The longstanding friction stems from deep-seated mutual accusations over security and border control, with both sides pointing to the other as responsible for ongoing instability in the region.