The Afghan Taliban government said on Friday that its forces carried out air strikes on militant hideouts in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, a claim quickly denied by Islamabad.
In a statement published on X, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said that the Afghan Air Force targeted militant positions in the two Pakistani provinces on Thursday evening. The ministry did not specify how the operation would be carried out.“These bases, which were allegedly used in cooperation with certain enemy intelligence services to plan and organize attacks against Afghanistan, previously served as a launching pad for several deadly attacks,” the ministry said.He added, “According to preliminary information, the operation succeeded in hitting its main pre-determined targets,” without providing details about the casualties or damage.The Pakistani Ministry of Information rejected this assertion, saying that no such strikes had occurred and that only a drone from Afghanistan had entered Pakistani airspace before it was intercepted.“These allegations are false as usual,” the ministry said in a post on the X website. “Terrorist camps… are located, managed and maintained from within the territories under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime.”
The Afghan announcement represents the first major offensive action carried out by Kabul against Pakistan in months and comes amid deteriorating relations between the two countries, which have exchanged accusations of cross-border militancy.According to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, Afghanistan does not possess combat aircraft but is believed to operate at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters.
Taliban forces are also known to possess drones that have previously been used in clashes with Pakistan.Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of harboring militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban administration denied these accusations and insisted that militancy was Pakistan’s internal problem.Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply this year, with hundreds reportedly killed in violence and military exchanges on the border.
China’s efforts to mediate and ease tensions have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.These latest allegations come just days after Pakistan launched air strikes on Afghan territory. The Taliban government said that those strikes killed at least 13 people, including 11 children, and injured 14 others.But Pakistan said the “calculated strikes” killed 26 militants and were launched in response to a recent escalation of attacks in the country’s northwest.The competing claims highlight the deep mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul, as both sides continue to blame each other for instability and armed violence along their shared border.
