ISLAMABAD: Airstrikes blamed on neighboring Pakistan by Afghanistan’s Taliban government hit two eastern provinces, killing at least three people, injuring seven, and damaging homes, officials and witnesses reported.
In Kabul, the Foreign Ministry condemned the late Wednesday strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces, calling them a “provocative act” and summoning the Pakistani ambassador on Thursday. The Afghan Defence Ministry also denounced the attacks, stating on X (formerly Twitter) that “such barbaric and brutal actions benefit neither side, but deepen divisions between the two Muslim nations and fuel hatred. These irresponsible activities will have consequences.”
Neither Pakistan’s government nor its military has commented on the alleged strikes.
Kabul has previously accused Pakistan of targeting suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban—a banned militant group blamed for some of Pakistan’s deadliest attacks.
In Nangarhar’s Shinwari district, residents sifted through rubble after their homes were destroyed. “They dropped the first big bomb on my house. My house was completely destroyed,” said Shah Sawar, a local. “I first pulled a child out, then four more children and a woman.” Nangarhar’s deputy governor, Maulvi Azizullah Mustafa, said the strikes were carried out by Pakistani drones. Afghan authorities reported three deaths and seven injuries in Nangarhar and Khost.
Kabul had similarly accused Pakistan in December 2024 of airstrikes in Paktika province targeting Pakistani Taliban hideouts—attacks Pakistan also denied at the time. Kabul claimed to have retaliated by striking multiple locations inside Pakistan.
The latest violence follows a recent diplomatic meeting in Kabul where Pakistan, China, and Afghanistan pledged closer cooperation against terrorism. It also comes three months after Pakistan and Afghanistan upgraded diplomatic ties to improve bilateral relations.
However, tensions have persisted since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, largely over Kabul’s alleged support for the Pakistani Taliban, which has increased attacks on Pakistani civilians and security forces. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the group, a claim Kabul denies, asserting that no one is allowed to use Afghan soil to target another country.
