Afghanistan Vows Retaliation After Pakistani Airstrikes Kill Four

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 1411 EAT on Thursday 24 September 2026

Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan have killed at least four people, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government said, vowing an “appropriate response.”

Pakistan said on Thursday that it had carried out airstrikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan allegedly used to store and launch drones, some of which were used in cross-border attacks.

The strikes have further heightened tensions between the two neighboring countries, which have traded accusations over cross-border attacks.

Afghanistan’s Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the airstrikes targeted Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces.

A resident of Kandahar city told AFP that an airstrike hit the southern Afghan city. The resident said they heard a jet before a large explosion, followed by a fire in central Kandahar, AFP reported.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate” and were limited to identified military targets linked to what he described as attempted attacks against Pakistan.

Tarar condemned what he called a “deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones” on Wednesday.
“This constitutes a blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and is a grave and unacceptable act of aggression,” he said.

Taliban officials denied that their government had launched drones against Pakistan on Wednesday.

Thursday’s airstrikes came amid growing tensions between the two former allies over attacks by armed groups in Pakistan. The tensions triggered their worst fighting in years in February.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters who carry out cross-border attacks. Afghanistan’s Taliban government denies the allegation, saying the attacks are an internal Pakistani problem.

An attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week that killed at least 21 people has reignited fighting between the two countries after nearly three months of relative calm.
A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast and the subsequent gun battle.

On Monday, airstrikes targeting three locations in northeastern Afghanistan killed three civilians in Nurgal district, Kunar province, Afghan officials said. Pakistan, however, said the strikes killed 28 “terrorists.”

The latest escalation threatens ongoing mediation efforts by China, Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to broker a lasting peace between the two neighboring countries.
Relations between the former allies have remained strained since the fighting in February, which was the worst between them in years.

-Aljazeera

Invest or Donate towards HICGI New Agency Global Media Establishment – Watch video here