Afghanistan announced on Friday that it had conducted airstrikes on hideouts of Islamist militants in two Pakistani provinces, a claim that Islamabad swiftly denied. This incident occurs months after the neighboring countries experienced their most severe conflict in years.
Afghanistan's Statement
The Taliban government's defense ministry posted on X that hideouts in Pakistan's Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, both bordering Afghanistan, were targeted by the Afghan air force on Thursday night. The ministry did not specify how the attack—Kabul's first major offensive action in months—was carried out.
Afghanistan does not possess fighter jets but is known to have at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. The Taliban forces are also reported to have drones that have been used in fighting with Pakistan.
“These bases, allegedly used in cooperation with certain hostile intelligence circles to plan and organize attacks against Afghanistan, had previously served as staging grounds for several deadly attacks,” the Afghan ministry stated. “According to preliminary information, the operation successfully hit its key pre-designated targets,” it added, without providing details on casualties.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the assertion.
Pakistan's Response
Pakistan's Information Ministry denied the Taliban assertion, stating that a “rudimentary drone” from Afghanistan had entered Pakistani airspace but was immediately identified and shot down. “The claims are false, as usual. Terrorist camps... are factually located, run and patronised from inside the territories under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime,” it said in a post on X.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring militants that it claims plot attacks in Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban denies these allegations and says militancy is Pakistan's internal problem.
Background of Conflict
The conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, once allies but now foes, has killed hundreds of people this year. Efforts to ease tensions, mediated by China, have yielded no results so far.
Last week, Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghan provinces, which the Afghan Taliban said killed at least 13 people, including 11 children, and injured 14. Islamabad said the “calibrated strikes” killed 26 militants and were a response to a recent spate of attacks in northwest Pakistan.
