OMM Redaksiyası
Pakistan said it carried out air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan used to store and launch drones, following what Islamabad described as cross-border drone attacks.
The strikes were conducted on Thursday in several areas of Afghanistan’s southeastern Khost province, Mustaghfir Gurbaz, a spokesperson for the Khost governor, said, according to AFP, AP and Reuters reports. He said there were no casualties.
Tensions between the two countries have intensified over attacks by armed groups in Pakistan, leading to their worst fighting in years in February.
Pakistan describes strikes as limited military action
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on “X” that the strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate”. He said they were limited to identified military targets directly linked to attempted attacks against Pakistan.
Tarar condemned what he called a “deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones”, describing it as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering fighters responsible for cross-border attacks. Kabul denies harbouring anti-Pakistani armed groups and says the attacks are an internal Pakistani problem.
Afghanistan denies launching drones
Taliban officials denied that their government had launched drones against Pakistan on Wednesday.
A resident of Kandahar told AFP that an air strike hit the southern Afghan city. The resident said a jet was heard before a large explosion and a fire in the city centre.
The latest escalation follows an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week that killed at least 21 people. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast and a subsequent gun battle.
Earlier on Monday, Afghan officials said Pakistani air strikes on three locations in Kunar province’s Nurgal district had killed three civilians. Islamabad said it had killed 28 “terrorists”.
The rising tensions threaten mediation efforts by China, Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to help secure a lasting peace between the neighbouring countries.
