Taliban accuses Pakistan of airstrikes as border fighting intensifies

Afghanistan’s Taliban administration on Friday accused Pakistan of carrying out overnight airstrikes on civilian areas in Kabul and the southern province of Kandahar, as clashes between the two countries entered their third week.

Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X that Pakistani aircraft had struck residential neighbourhoods as well as fuel depots belonging to Kam Air near Kandahar airport.

According to Mujahid, the fuel facilities supply aviation fuel for commercial airlines and aircraft operated by the United Nations.

Officials in Pakistan had not immediately commented on the allegations.

The claims come amid escalating hostilities between the two neighbours, who have exchanged strikes on military targets since late February. Afghan authorities have said earlier attacks targeted Pakistani positions in response to cross-border operations carried out by Islamabad.

Pakistan has maintained that its military operations are aimed at militant groups operating along the frontier, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. Islamabad frequently accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harbouring the group, a claim Kabul denies.

Police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said at least four civilians, including children, were killed in Kabul during the latest strikes, while 15 others were injured. The overall number of casualties across the country remained unclear.

Mujahid also claimed that Pakistani strikes had hit civilian sites and other locations in the eastern provinces of Paktia and Paktika, warning that the attacks “will not go unanswered”.

The renewed violence has become the most serious confrontation between the two countries in years, with Islamabad previously describing the clashes as an “open war”.

The latest escalation occurred shortly after Yue Xiaoyong, China’s special envoy for Afghanistan, visited Islamabad following talks with Afghan officials in Kabul.

Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, said discussions with the Chinese envoy focused on security threats posed by militant groups such as the TTP and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, which China considers a major security concern.

Despite repeated appeals from the international community for restraint, the violence has continued. Pakistan insists its operations target militants it refers to as “Khawarij”, a term used for the TTP.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, attacks by the group inside Pakistan have intensified, particularly in border regions.

The current clashes have also effectively ended a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey in October, which had temporarily halted hostilities after the two neighbours came close to open conflict.

Following the truce agreement signed in Qatar, negotiators held six days of talks in Istanbul and agreed to extend the ceasefire while preparing for further negotiations. However, the latest fighting suggests that those diplomatic efforts have failed to prevent renewed escalation.

With PTI inputs