Kabul’s Defense Ministry states that “various civilian areas” were targeted in an attack resulting in at least 18 deaths
Afghanistan has issued a threat of retaliation following Pakistani airstrikes on its soil that are reported to have killed at least 18 people and wounded several others.
The strikes occurred overnight Saturday in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika. According to Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry, “various civilian areas” were hit—including a religious school and residential homes. At least 18 individuals, including women and children, are said to have died, with several others injured.
The ministry noted that the attack constitutes “a breach of international law and the principles of good neighborliness.”
“We hold the Pakistani military accountable for targeting civilians and religious sites,” it said in a statement. “We will respond to these attacks in due course with a measured and appropriate response.”
Pakistan defended the action as a “retributive response” to recent suicide bombings—including one at a Shiite place of worship earlier this month that killed at least 31 people and injured nearly 170. The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has claimed responsibility for that attack.
The Pakistani Information Ministry said on X that the military “carried out intelligence-based, selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with precision and accuracy,” accusing Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of failing to “undertake any substantive action” against militant groups. Pakistani officials claimed at least 70 militants were killed in the strike, a claim the Taliban dismissed as false.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari stated the operation was “rooted in Pakistan’s inherent right to defend its people against terrorism,” adding that repeated warnings to Kabul had gone unheeded. He warned those responsible for attacks in Pakistan “will not remain beyond reach,” stressing that protecting citizens is “paramount and non-negotiable.”
Tensions between the two neighboring countries escalated last October, with both sides accusing each other of initiating violence. A Qatari-mediated ceasefire was reached after several days of deadly border clashes that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. While the truce has largely held, follow-up talks in Istanbul in November did not produce a formal agreement, leaving relations strained.