Pakistan Launches Retaliatory Strikes on Kabul After Border Clash

Pakistani forces conducted airstrikes on Afghanistan's capital Kabul and two other provinces early Friday morning, following Afghanistan's cross-border assault on Pakistani military positions Thursday night. The escalating violence between the neighboring nations threatens a fragile Qatar-brokered ceasefire that has been in place for months.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Early Friday morning, Pakistani military forces launched airstrikes targeting Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul along with two additional provinces, according to Afghanistan’s government spokesperson. The strikes came just hours following Afghanistan’s overnight cross-border military operation against Pakistan, marking a dangerous escalation in tensions between the two neighboring nations that puts a Qatar-brokered ceasefire in serious jeopardy.

Residents in Kabul reported hearing at least three explosions, though immediate details about the precise strike locations within the capital or potential casualties remained unavailable. Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Pakistani forces also conducted aerial attacks in the southern province of Kandahar and the southeastern region of Paktia.

Two high-ranking Pakistani security officials, speaking anonymously to The Associated Press because they lacked authorization for public statements, confirmed their military targeted what they characterized as Afghan military installations across Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia provinces. These officials claimed the strikes successfully destroyed two brigade headquarters but provided no casualty information.

Afghan military forces launched their cross-border offensive into Pakistan late Thursday evening, which they described as retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes that hit Afghan border regions on Sunday. Afghanistan claims its forces successfully seized more than a dozen Pakistani army positions during the assault.

Pakistani leadership characterized last Sunday’s airstrikes as operations against militants operating in the border area, while dismissing Thursday’s Afghan military action as an unprovoked assault. Pakistani officials also rejected Afghan claims about captured army positions.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on both nations to safeguard civilian populations as mandated by international law and “to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy,” according to U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

“In response to the repeated rebellions and insurrections of the Pakistani military, large-scale offensive operations were launched against Pakistani military bases and military installations along the Durand Line,” Mujahid stated in a Thursday night social media post. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry reported conducting retaliatory operations along border areas spanning six provinces.

The disputed 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) boundary between the nations is called the Durand Line, which Afghanistan refuses to officially acknowledge.

Both countries provided dramatically different casualty reports from the fighting.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry claimed 55 Pakistani soldiers died in the clash, including some whose remains were brought into Afghan territory, while “several others were captured alive.” The ministry reported eight of its own fighters killed with 11 additional wounded. Afghan officials said they demolished 19 Pakistani army positions and two bases, with combat ending at midnight approximately four hours after operations began.

However, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated only two Pakistani soldiers were killed with three others injured. He reported 36 Afghan fighters had died. In a social media statement, he said Pakistan was delivering a “strong and effective response” to what he termed unprovoked Afghan aggression.

Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, rejected claims that Pakistani soldiers had been taken prisoner. He later posted that at least 133 Afghan fighters were killed with over 200 wounded, claiming 27 Afghan positions were destroyed and nine fighters captured. He did not specify casualty locations, adding there would be “many more casualties estimated in strikes in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar military targets.”

Both nations also documented gunfire exchanges in the Torkham border region.

Afghan officials began evacuating a refugee settlement near the Torkham crossing after multiple refugees sustained injuries, according to Qureshi Badlon, director of Torkham’s Information and Public Awareness Board. The Defense Ministry reported 13 civilians wounded in a missile attack on the camp, including women and children.

On Pakistan’s side of the frontier, police reported residents fleeing to safer locations, while Afghan refugees awaiting return to Afghanistan were relocated to secure areas. Pakistan initiated an extensive migrant crackdown in October 2023, expelling hundreds of thousands of people.

Pakistani police confirmed mortars launched from Afghanistan struck nearby villages, though no civilian casualties were reported.

“Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens,” Pakistan’s Information Ministry declared in a social media statement.

Afghanistan’s military distributed nighttime video footage showing military vehicles in motion and sounds of intense gunfire, though the footage could not be independently confirmed.

Relations between the neighboring countries have remained strained for months, with deadly border confrontations in October resulting in dozens of military, civilian and suspected militant deaths. That violence followed Kabul explosions that Afghan authorities attributed to Pakistan. Islamabad subsequently conducted deep strikes inside Afghanistan targeting militant strongholds.

A Qatar-facilitated ceasefire between the nations has generally held, though both sides have periodically exchanged fire across the border. Multiple peace negotiations in November failed to achieve a formal agreement.

On Sunday, Pakistan’s military executed strikes along the Afghan border, claiming they eliminated at least 70 militants.

Afghanistan disputed this assertion, stating dozens of civilians died, including women and children. The Defense Ministry said “various civilian areas” in eastern Afghanistan were targeted, including a religious school and multiple residences. The ministry characterized the strikes as violations of Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty.

Militant activity has increased dramatically in Pakistan recently, with much of the violence attributed by Pakistan to the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP, and banned Baloch separatist organizations. The TTP operates independently from but maintains close ties with Afghanistan’s Taliban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of conducting operations from Afghan territory, which both the group and Kabul reject.