Pakistan Carries Out Strikes in Afghanistan

Section: Geopolitics
Format: Article
Author: Sinisa Brkic (sb)

Pakistan has carried out air and drone strikes on ten locations inside Afghanistan, marking a new escalation in the increasingly tense relationship between the two neighboring states. Islamabad says the operation followed the interception of eight drones that entered Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan. Kabul denies responsibility for the drones and says four civilians were killed in the Pakistani strikes.

Pakistan confirms strikes inside Afghanistan

Pakistan confirmed on September 24 that its armed forces had attacked ten locations in Afghanistan. According to Islamabad, the sites were linked to drones that had entered Pakistani airspace a day earlier. Pakistani authorities said air defenses intercepted eight drones approaching from Afghan territory before they could reach their intended targets. Islamabad has not publicly presented independently verifiable evidence establishing who launched the drones or proving that all ten locations later struck in Afghanistan were directly connected to the operation. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the Pakistani strikes as an exercise of the country’s right to self defense. Islamabad said the operation was directed against locations associated with the alleged drone activity and maintained that Pakistan had acted in response to a security threat originating from Afghan territory.

Kabul denies responsibility

Afghanistan’s Taliban government rejected Pakistan’s accusation that it was responsible for the drones. Kabul condemned the strikes and described the operation as a violation of Afghan sovereignty. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said four civilians were killed in the Pakistani attacks and indicated that Afghanistan would respond appropriately. The casualty figure was reported by Afghan authorities and had not been independently confirmed at the time of publication. The Pakistani operation reportedly targeted locations in several Afghan provinces, including Khost, Paktia and Kandahar. The geographical reach of the strikes adds to concerns that a conflict previously dominated by border incidents, militant attacks and mutual accusations is moving toward more direct military confrontation.

Drones move to the center of the dispute

The latest confrontation is significant because drones have now become a central element in the competing allegations between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistan is no longer accusing Afghanistan solely of allowing militant groups to operate from its territory. It now says drones were launched from Afghan territory directly into Pakistani airspace. Kabul disputes that account, leaving the origin and responsibility for the alleged drone operation unresolved. There is currently no independent confirmation that the Taliban government ordered, conducted or supported the flights cited by Pakistan as justification for its military response. That distinction is critical. Pakistan’s claim that drones originated from Afghanistan and Kabul’s denial are competing accounts, while the Pakistani strikes themselves have been officially acknowledged.

Second Pakistani operation within days

The latest attacks follow Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan on September 21. Islamabad said those operations targeted militants it blamed for violence inside Pakistan, while Afghan authorities reported civilian casualties. The United Nations subsequently confirmed civilian deaths from the earlier strikes. That episode had already heightened tensions between the two countries and raised concerns that the longstanding dispute over militant groups operating along the border could develop into a broader confrontation. Pakistan has repeatedly accused armed groups hostile to Islamabad of using Afghan territory for attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban government rejects accusations that it knowingly provides sanctuary for such forces and has argued that Pakistan’s internal security problems cannot simply be attributed to Afghanistan.

Direct military action changes the risk

The underlying dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan is longstanding, but the character of the confrontation is changing. Pakistan has experienced repeated militant attacks, particularly in areas near the Afghan border, while diplomatic relations with Kabul have deteriorated over Islamabad’s claims that armed networks continue to operate from Afghan territory. What distinguishes the current phase is the increasingly open use of state military power across an internationally recognized border. Air and drone strikes carried out and publicly acknowledged by Pakistan represent a more serious level of confrontation than clashes involving militant groups or isolated exchanges along the frontier. The growing role of drones adds another layer of instability. Their ability to cross borders quickly and operate without exposing conventional aircraft makes attribution more difficult, particularly in an environment where political trust is already limited and competing claims are difficult to verify independently.

The next response will shape the crisis

Pakistan says further attacks originating from Afghan territory could trigger another response, while Kabul has warned that the latest strikes will not go unanswered. The immediate direction of the confrontation therefore depends heavily on what follows the September 24 operation. A confirmed Afghan military strike on Pakistani territory, sustained exchanges between regular forces or a further expansion of Pakistani operations inside Afghanistan would mark another significant escalation. For now, the central development is already substantial. A security dispute long dominated by militant violence and accusations over cross border sanctuaries is increasingly involving direct military action between two neighboring states. With drones now becoming part of that confrontation and responsibility for the initial incursion still disputed, the danger lies not only in the next attack, but in how rapidly an incident with contested origins can trigger another round of retaliation.