Pakistan launched overnight airstrikes and a ground operation along its border with Afghanistan, with Afghan officials saying at least 36 civilians were killed and more than 160 injured, marking the latest escalation in tensions between the two neighbours.
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Afghanistan's Taliban government condemned the strikes, describing them as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality."
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban administration, said Pakistani forces first struck a house in Chamkani district of Paktia province, killing an elderly man and a child and injuring several members of the same family.
Afghanistan Accuses Pakistan of Targeting Civilians
He said a second strike hit the area after local residents gathered to help those affected, killing 28 villagers and wounding 158 others.
In neighbouring Paktika province, another airstrike reportedly hit a home in Giyan district, killing six people, most of them women and children. Afghan officials also said a civilian house in Kunar province was struck, killing around 30 livestock but causing no human casualties.
Pakistan Says Militants Were Targeted
Pakistan said its military action targeted militant hideouts and safe havens following a series of attacks inside the country.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces carried out a ground operation before launching airstrikes, killing 29 militants. He said the operation was a response to multiple attacks by armed groups operating against Pakistan.
Militant violence has increased in Pakistan in recent years, with authorities blaming the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups for many of the attacks. Although separate organisations, the TTP maintains close ties with Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, who returned to power in 2021.
The latest operation came after militants attacked the regional headquarters of Pakistan's paramilitary Rangers in Karachi, killing three soldiers. Pakistani security forces said they killed three attackers and captured a fourth suspect, whom they identified as an injured Afghan national.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction that split from the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the Karachi assault.
Conflict Continues Despite Peace Efforts
The latest cross-border operation took place less than three weeks after Pakistan carried out airstrikes on what it described as militant positions inside Afghanistan. Those strikes ended roughly a month of relative calm following what Islamabad had previously referred to as an "open war" between the two countries.
Relations have steadily deteriorated in recent months, with repeated military exchanges across the border. Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting since February, when Afghanistan launched retaliatory strikes after earlier Pakistani air raids.
Several rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a lasting ceasefire. China hosted talks between the two countries in April and later said both sides had agreed to avoid further escalation while seeking a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 29 June 2026