Afghanistan launches retaliatory drone strikes on Pakistan military sites in Kohat

Afghanistan conducted retaliatory drone strikes on strategic military centres and installations of the Pakistan Army in the Kohat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence said on Friday.

Pakistan’s Kohat Military Fort, a war command centre along the Durand Line, and the office of the fort’s commander sustained significant damage during the retaliatory strikes.

The strikes followed artillery fire by Pakistan’s military on various areas of the Alisher-Terezai district of Khost province, near the hypothetical Durand Line, according to TOLO News.

Four members of one family were killed and three others were injured in the shelling.

Why did Pakistan Air Forces strike Kam Air fuel depots near Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan?

Pakistan Air Forces also struck the fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near Kandahar Airport in Afghanistan, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Friday.

In a post on X, he said that the company provides fuel materials for domestic airlines as well as for United Nations aircraft. Zabihullah Mujahid also accused Pakistan of previously attacking the fuel storage of a national trader named Haji Khan Zadah.

The developments come amid an increasing exchange of airstrikes between Pakistan and Afghanistan along the Durand Line in February. Pakistan launched air strikes on Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and other cities as clashes escalated along the two countries’ shared border.

On February 27, Pakistan launched airstrikes targeting Kabul and other Afghan cities. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared an "open war," stating that Pakistan’s "cup of patience has overflowed."

He accused the Taliban of harbouring global terrorists and exporting militancy.

What did Afghanistan claim about Pakistani soldier casualties along the Durand Line?

The Afghan Ministry of National Defence claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory operations along the Durand Line on February 26.

The Durand Line dispute and the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 have fuelled tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with frequent clashes reported.

Pakistan has repeatedly called on the Taliban to rein in armed groups such as the Pakistan Taliban, known by its acronym TTP, which it says Afghanistan is harbouring.

The TTP emerged in Pakistan in 2007 and is separate from the Taliban in Afghanistan but shares deep ideological, social and linguistic ties with the group, according to Al Jazeera.

Armed attacks in Pakistan by the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which operates in the resource-rich Balochistan province, have surged in recent years. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan, have borne the brunt of the violence.

India strongly condemned Pakistan’s airstrikes in Afghan territory, specifically noting the civilian casualties, including women and children, during Ramadan and reiterated its support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

(With inputs from ANI)