Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan: Retaliation Amid Drone Intrusion Claims
Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan: Retaliation Amid Drone Intrusion Claims
Pakistan launches retaliatory airstrikes on 10 sites in Afghanistan after claiming drone intrusions. Afghanistan denies attacks, reporting civilian deaths and warning of consequences. Tensions escalate in the region.
Pakistan has confirmed it carried out air strikes on 10 locations within Afghanistan on Thursday, September 24, 2026. These strikes were a direct response to what Pakistan describes as drone intrusions from Afghan territory a day earlier.
Pakistan's Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, stated that the operations were
deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate, and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan.
He further warned of a "firm and resolute response" to any future provocative acts by the Afghan Taliban.
The situation marks a significant escalation between the two nations, once allies, now increasingly at odds. Pakistan's air defence systems reportedly detected drones on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, launched from Afghanistan, which were neutralized before reaching their targets. Pakistan claims the sites targeted on Thursday were being used to launch and store these unmanned aerial vehicles.
However, Afghanistan's Taliban government has vehemently denied launching any drones against Pakistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's main spokesperson, confirmed that airstrikes occurred in Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost provinces, but asserted that the attacks killed four civilians.
He condemned Pakistan's actions as "reckless, careless, and hostile," warning they would "undoubtedly provoke the anger of the Afghan people and will have adverse consequences for the Pakistani military."
This recent exchange follows a period of relative calm, broken by an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week, which resulted in at least 24 deaths. Both nations have been accusing each other of harboring Islamist militants responsible for cross-border attacks, a claim denied by Afghanistan, which instead calls militancy Pakistan's internal issue.
Previous incidents include earlier Pakistani airstrikes in the border region, which Islamabad claimed killed 28 militants, while Kabul reported three civilian deaths. A major incident in March saw a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul, which Afghan officials claimed hit a drug rehabilitation center, killing over 400 people, a charge Pakistan denied, stating it targeted military installations.
The ongoing tension highlights a deteriorating relationship with no clear resolution in sight.
#PakistanAfghanistan #CrossBorderConflict #DroneStrikes #RegionalSecurity
