Afghanistan Launches Airstrikes Inside Pakistan as Drone Attacks Escalate
Afghanistan’s Taliban launched air strikes into Pakistani territory Wednesday while Islamabad said its forces intercepted and destroyed four drones over the southern province of Balochistan, the latest escalation in a months-long cycle of cross-border attacks that has killed hundreds of people this year and drawn alarm from the United Nations.
Pakistan’s military said the drones were spotted by its air defence network along the border and neutralised before reaching their targets. Two people were injured when a drone was sighted near a government school in Saranan, Balochistan, according to provincial officials. The attack marked the second consecutive day of cross-border strikes, following an exchange on Tuesday that saw both sides exchange artillery fire along the frontier.
Civilian Toll Mounts as Strikes Intensify
The Afghan defence ministry said its forces struck what it described as an Islamic State affiliate in Saranan and elsewhere in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Afghanistan possesses at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies data, and has increasingly deployed drones against targets inside Pakistan in what analysts describe as a significant shift in its military tactics.
“If the Afghan Taliban continue to provoke Pakistan, they would receive a befitting response which would cost them heavily,” Pakistan’s military warned in a statement Wednesday. The warning came hours after the latest exchange of fire that saw Afghanistan’s air strikes land inside Pakistani territory for the second time this week, underscoring the rapid deterioration of an already fragile situation along the 2,600-kilometre border.
At least 28 civilians were killed and 49 others injured Monday when Pakistan conducted air raids along the Afghan border in what Islamabad described as retaliation for terrorist attacks on its soil. The Afghan government said the strikes killed at least 36 civilians, including children. A deadly weekend assault in Karachi that prompted Pakistan’s response killed at least 20 people.
The conflict between the two neighbours, who were once close allies, has intensified sharply since February when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes following a wave of Pakistani air attacks inside Afghan territory. Hundreds have been killed on both sides this year, and both governments have hardened their positions, making a diplomatic resolution increasingly elusive.
Beijing Mediation Fails to Halt Escalation
China has attempted to mediate between the two sides without success. Beijing brokered preliminary talks between Pakistani and Afghan officials in May, but those diplomatic efforts collapsed as the cross-border attacks resumed within days. Both nations have repeatedly carried out strikes in defiance of diplomatic pressure, making clear that neither side is prepared to accept a ceasefire on current terms.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harbouring the TTP, the Pakistan Taliban, which has waged a violent insurgency inside Pakistan for years. Afghan officials deny the allegations and say Pakistan itself harbours hostile militant groups on Afghan soil and does not respect Afghan sovereignty. The dispute over whether Afghanistan harbours anti-Pakistan militants has been a persistent source of tension since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Regional Tensions Spread Beyond the Border
The escalation comes amid broader regional instability with implications beyond the immediate conflict zone. The air strikes follow a pattern of increasingly sophisticated weaponry being deployed by both sides, with Afghanistan’s growing drone capability adding a new dimension to the conflict that has strained Pakistan’s air defence systems and raised concerns among Western military analysts about the proliferation of combat drone technology in South Asia.
UN officials have called for an immediate de-escalation and warned the fighting is creating a humanitarian crisis along the border region, with thousands of civilians displaced by the cross-border attacks. International human rights groups have documented civilian casualties on both sides and called for independent investigations into alleged violations of international humanitarian law.
