News
October 02, 2026
Pakistan Launches Deadly Air Strikes on AfghanistanKabul: Pakistan has conducted further air strikes on Afghanistan, killing nine civilians and injuring 11 others, the Taliban government said.
Islamabad's information ministry confirmed the strikes, which it said killed twenty-two militants.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman of the Afghan Taliban, said the strikes hit homes in the Kunar and Helmand provinces bordering Pakistan. Women and children are among the dead, he said in an X post.
"We condemn this act as an aggression and crime in violation of all accepted principles," he said.
Pakistan had very different claims, saying that the "well-planned and calibrated" attack targeted "terrorist camps" in Afghanistan, where large quantities of weapons and ammunition were stored.
Maximum precautions were taken to ensure no collateral damage occurred, Pakistan's information ministry said.
An eyewitness from Garmsir, Qudratullah, told the BBC that the airstrikes started around 03:30 local time (00:00 BST) and continued for 30 minutes.
"We were sleeping when the jets arrived. After the first bomb exploded, we woke up. After the second strikes, we took our children and fled the area. The third bomb hit our neighbor’s house; between four and give members of their family were killed while others were injured and taken to hospital."
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of harboring militant groups that carry out and plan attacks on it from inside Afghanistan's territory.
The Afghan Taliban deny it, saying Pakistan's militancy is an internal problem, but it has led to a significant deterioration in the relationship between the two neighbors.
Fighting between the neighbors escalated dramatically in February this year, with Pakistan declaring that it's in an "open war" with Afghanistan after a surge in deadly clashes and cross-border airstrikes.
Talks mediated by China established a fragile ceasefire in March, but it did not last.
Last month, a deadly attack on a police facility in north-west Pakistan, which killed 24 people, was blamed on the Pakistani Taliban by the provincial police force.
Last week, Pakistan launched air strikes in Afghanistan which hit Kandahar, the Taliban's base of power, among other provinces. This earlier attack killed four civilians , according to the Afghan Taliban government. – BBC
The News adds: Multiple militants were killed as Pakistan carried out "well-planned and calibrated" aerial strikes on terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Information said on Thursday.
The strikes were carried out as part of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq and Pakistan’s resolve to eliminate terrorists, their networks and supporters, the ministry said in a statement.
It said the strikes were based on credible intelligence and targeted terrorist camps and hideouts at two locations belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij, Fitna al-Hindustan and their affiliates.
"Targets were destroyed with precision," the ministry said, adding that initial reports suggested 22 terrorists had been killed.
Large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the hideouts were also destroyed, according to the statement.
"Pakistan has always strived for the maintenance of peace and stability in the region. However, the safety and security of our citizens remains our foremost priority," the ministry said.
It expressed concern that Afghanistan continued to remain a hub of terrorism, adding that the threat to Pakistan emanated from Afghanistan.
"In this context, our action precisely targeted the terrorist hubs," the ministry said, adding that maximum precautions were taken to ensure there was no collateral damage.
The ministry said the country's counterterrorism campaign, Ghazab lil-Haq, being conducted under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam by the security forces and law enforcement agencies, would continue at full pace.
It said the campaign would continue to "wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism" from the country. – The News
Courtesy The News
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