Pakistan Air Strikes in Afghanistan Kill 13 Civilians, Taliban Claims

The Taliban Government in Kabul on Wednesday announced that overnight air strikes carried out by Pakistani forces inside Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of at least 13 individuals and left 14 others injured.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated that Pakistan violated Afghanistan's airspace, launching targeted bombardments on civilian residences in the provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The unprovoked aggression claimed the lives of 11 children, one woman, and one elderly man.

Mujahid further noted that 14 women sustained injuries during the military assault, and he subsequently shared photographs documenting the casualties of the strikes.

Over the past year, relentless Pakistani military operations inside Afghanistan have claimed hundreds of lives amid surging cross-border hostilities.

In a particularly devastating assault in March, Pakistani forces bombed a rehabilitation centre in Kabul, causing the deaths of at least 269 individuals.

Why Did Pakistan Launch Cross-Border Air Strikes in Afghanistan?

The long-standing friction between the two neighbours escalated into a full-scale cross-border conflict in October 2025, when Islamabad carried out extensive air strikes within Afghanistan, including the capital city of Kabul.

These continuous incursions have triggered a wider conflict, forcing tens of thousands of Afghan civilians to flee their homes and displacing vast populations due to repeated rounds of clashes.

While Islamabad has attempted to posture itself as a peacemaker in external conflicts elsewhere in West Asia, its own forces have systematically escalated violence along its western border.

Over the past year, Pakistan has repeatedly targeted Afghan territory, attempting to justify its deadly campaigns by alleging that the Taliban provides support to groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

Islamabad has frequently sought to shift blame for its internal security failures by levelling unsubstantiated accusations, claiming that the Taliban shelters these militant groups at India's behest to facilitate cross-border attacks.

However, it is noted that the deteriorating relationship marks a collapse of Islamabad's own historic regional policies, as Pakistan operated as the principal patron of the Taliban for decades before relations severely eroded following the group's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

(With inputs from ANI)