Govind Tekale
Pakistan Strikes 10 Afghan Sites After Drone Attacks, Ceasefire Collapses
Pakistan launched airstrikes on 10 sites across three Afghan provinces early Thursday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced on X. The strikes mark the second Pakistani military operation inside Afghanistan in four days and the worst escalation since a ceasefire collapsed in March 2026.
Tarar said Afghan Taliban forces fired eight drones and shelled Pakistani border posts after troops foiled a cross-border infiltration attempt. He released aerial footage showing strikes hitting compounds in Kandahar and Khost provinces, calling the operation “precise, calibrated, and proportionate.” The strikes were conducted under Operation Ghazab lil Haq, Pakistan counterterrorism campaign.
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied Afghan forces launched any drones. “We condemn this act of aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles,” Mujahid said on X. He said Pakistani airstrikes hit civilian homes in Kunar and Helmand provinces, killing nine women and children and wounding 11 others. Three homes were destroyed.
Two Days of Escalation After Kohat Attack
Thursday strikes follow Monday Pakistani airstrikes on eastern Afghanistan that Islamabad said killed 28 militants. Afghan authorities said three civilians died and four were wounded in Monday strikes. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan confirmed those civilian casualties.
The escalation traces to a militant attack on a police compound in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, last Friday. Eight gunmen stormed the compound, triggering a 20-hour gunbattle that killed at least 23 people, most of them police officers. No group claimed responsibility, but Pakistani authorities blamed the Pakistani Taliban — the same counter terrorism threat profile seen in the RAF Fairford terror plot and the RAF Fairford bomb plot.
Pakistan says it foiled eight rudimentary drones launched by the Afghan Taliban before they could reach the northwestern city of Kohat and the border town of Torkham. Afghan forces allegedly fired mortars and heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts, prompting artillery return fire. This pattern of drone breaches has been rising globally, as documented in karmactive coverage of UK security adaptations.
Civilian Toll Contested as UN Data Shows Worsening Trend
The casualty claims from both sides could not be independently verified. Pakistan information ministry said 22 militants were killed in Thursday strikes and large quantities of weapons and ammunition were destroyed. Afghan officials said four civilians were killed across Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost provinces. Pakistani and Afghan accounts differ on which provinces were struck — Islamabad says Kandahar, Paktia, Khost; Kabul says Kunar and Helmand — and neither claim could be independently confirmed.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported in July that cross-border armed violence killed at least 499 civilians and wounded 1,216 others between October 2025 and June 2026. The data reveals a pattern of escalating border violence that the UN has repeatedly flagged. The security strategy overhaul in Switzerland highlights how nations are adapting to cross-border threats.
What the UN Data Does Not Show
The UNAMA report covers only cross-border armed violence between Taliban forces and Pakistani security forces. It does not include casualties from militant attacks inside Pakistan, such as the Kohat police compound assault that killed 23 people and triggered the latest escalation. The suicide bomber who struck the mosque inside the Kohat police compound days earlier killed additional civilians. The full civilian toll from this cycle of violence is likely higher than either side official figures suggest.
Mediation Efforts at Risk
The strikes threaten mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to broker a lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar raised the issue at the UN General Assembly, citing the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has repeatedly denied allowing militants to operate from its soil. Kabul formally protested Monday airstrikes. Thursday strikes, which hit areas near Kandahar — the seat of Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada — represent a major escalation.
Priority PAA: Will Pakistan and Afghanistan Go to War?
Full-scale war is unlikely. Both nations have fought before and pulled back. The shared border spans 2,640 kilometres of remote terrain where militant groups operate on both sides. Pakistan strikes are targeted, not invasion-level. But the ceasefire from March 2026 has collapsed, and retaliation is expected. The real risk is a cycle of strikes and counter-strikes that draws in regional powers and destabilises Central Asia.
What Comes Next
Afghan Taliban spokesman Mujahid vowed an “appropriate response” to the strikes. Pakistani officials said forces would continue defending territorial integrity against “externally sponsored, sheltered and abetted threat by terrorist proxies.” Both nations face domestic political pressure on security matters. The fundamental dispute — Pakistan demand that Afghanistan dismantle militant networks — remains unresolved after months of diplomacy. Border communities remain caught between two states engaged in an unresolved conflict.
