Pakistan has conducted air strikes in neighbouring Afghanistan, which the Taliban government spokesman claims killed at least ten people, including nine children.
The strikes, which hit border regions on Tuesday, follow a suicide attack on a Pakistani security compound the previous day and signal a deepening crisis in relations between the two countries.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X that the “Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident” in Khost province. He claimed the strike killed nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman. Additionally, four other civilians were reportedly wounded by air strikes targeting the border regions of Kunar and Paktika.
Pakistani government officials and the military have not yet commented on the raids.
The bombardment comes after a suicide attack targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar, killing three officers and wounding 11 others.
No group has claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack, but state broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals. Pakistan’s President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij”—Islamabad’s term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.
Earlier this month, another suicide blast in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, killed 12 people. That attack was claimed by a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad blamed a militant cell for the capital attack that was “guided at every step by the… high command based in Afghanistan.”
Fraying relations and border dispute
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been tense since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Tensions escalated following deadly border clashes in October that killed around 70 people on both sides. A ceasefire, brokered by Qatar and Turkey, ended the fighting, but subsequent talks failed to produce a lasting deal, largely due to Pakistan’s demand that Kabul curb TTP fighters.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the TTP militants, who have waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan for years. Kabul denies the charge and counters that Pakistan harbours groups hostile to Afghanistan and does not respect its sovereignty.
Meanwhile, the escalating security issues are taking an economic toll. The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned this week that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border, incurring “unbearable” daily charges of $150–$200 each.
