Pakistan strikes 10 sites in Afghanistan; four civilians killed, Kabul says

Pakistan said it carried out air strikes early Thursday on 10 sites in Afghanistan that Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said were used for drone attacks on Pakistan a day earlier. Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces killed four civilians, rejected the drone claims and warned of an appropriate response. The escalation threatens mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia between Kabul and Islamabad.

Written by AI from France 24 · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 24 Sept 2026, 2:47 pm IST

Source

France 24 · read the original report ↗

#pakistan#afghanistan#air strikes#taliban#border conflict

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Pakistan carried out air strikes on 10 sites in Afghanistan early Thursday. — Attributed to Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar via a post on X.
Four civilians were killed in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost. — Attributed to Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid; not independently confirmed in source.
Taliban forces fired eight drones and shelled Pakistani border posts. — Attributed to unnamed Pakistani officials speaking anonymously; explicitly rejected by Mujahid.
Monday's strikes killed 28 militants (Pakistan) or at least three civilians with four wounded (Afghanistan). — Conflicting figures from both governments; source says the UN mission confirmed civilian casualties.
China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are mediating between Kabul and Islamabad. — Stated in source without direct attribution to a named official.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Strategic Affairs Analyst

This has moved from border skirmishing to a cycle of tit-for-tat strikes: Pakistan is now using air power deep inside Afghan territory, as far as Kandahar, while Kabul denies the drone allegations and warns of an "appropriate response". Islamabad's framing of the strikes as "deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate" signals an attempt to send a punitive message without triggering full war — but civilian deaths make that limited logic politically costly. Strategically, the core dispute remains who controls TTP sanctuaries, and that is not a problem air strikes can settle.

Repeated Pakistani air strikes within a single week suggest air power is becoming a routine option rather than an exception, compressing decision time and raising the risk of miscalculation.
Because Kabul rejects the drone claims outright, there is no agreed factual baseline; without a verification mechanism, mediators have no obvious starting point.
The simultaneous involvement of China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia indicates the conflict touches regional economic and security interests, particularly border trade and connectivity stability.
Lacking air power, the Afghan Taliban's likely response runs through shelling, rudimentary drones and asymmetric means — precisely what sustains a long, grinding tension.
After attacks such as those in Kohat and Hangu, force becomes a domestic political necessity in Pakistan as much as a military one, which makes de-escalation harder to sell.

What to watch — Watch whether crossings such as Torkham are closed and whether the mediators table a formal ceasefire proposal — the earliest signals of whether this de-escalates or hardens into a pattern.

The story does not independently establish whether the drone attacks occurred, whether the targets were genuinely military, or the final casualty figures — the two governments' accounts directly contradict each other.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 6 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government are locked in a sharp military escalation along their border. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups that stage cross-border attacks; Kabul denies this. After a suicide bombing and gunbattle in Kohat and a shootout in Hangu, Pakistani jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, followed by claimed Afghan drone and mortar attacks and a fresh Pakistani air strike on 10 sites early Thursday. The fighting threatens mediation by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Key facts

Pakistan said it struck 10 sites in Afghanistan early Thursday, in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the Thursday strikes killed four civilians and warned of an "appropriate response".
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced the strikes on X, calling them "deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate" and limited to military objectives.
Pakistani officials claimed Afghan Taliban forces fired eight drones and that security forces neutralised eight rudimentary drones before they reached Kohat and Torkham.
In Monday's Pakistani air strikes, Pakistan's Information Ministry said 28 militants were killed; Afghan authorities said at least three civilians died and four were wounded.
The UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian casualties from Monday's strikes; Kabul formally protested.
A suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police compound in Kohat, followed by eight gunmen storming it, triggered a 20-hour gunbattle that killed at least 21 people, mostly police officers.
A shootout with militants in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed six Pakistani security personnel before Monday's air strikes.

Timeline

2021Afghan Taliban return to power in Kabul; the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) step up attacks on Pakistani security forces.
Days before MondaySuicide bomber hits a mosque inside a police compound in Kohat; eight gunmen storm it, sparking a 20-hour gunbattle killing at least 21, mostly police.
Before MondayShootout with militants in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, kills six Pakistani security personnel.
MondayPakistani fighter jets strike sites in eastern Afghanistan; Pakistan claims 28 militants killed, Afghanistan reports at least three civilians dead.
WednesdayPakistani officials say eight Afghan Taliban drones were neutralised near Kohat and Torkham and border posts shelled; Pakistan responds with artillery fire.
Early ThursdayPakistan carries out air strikes on 10 sites in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost; Kabul says four civilians killed and rejects the drone claims.

Who has a stake

Pakistan government / military — Says it is acting against militants using Afghan soil; Information Minister Attaullah Tarar frames strikes as proportionate self-defence.
Afghan Taliban government (Zabihullah Mujahid) — Rejects drone allegations, reports four civilian deaths and threatens "consequences" and an appropriate response.
Civilians in Kandahar, Paktia, Khost and Pakistani border areas — Bearing the casualties — four dead Thursday, at least three dead and four wounded Monday, plus at least 21 killed in Kohat.
China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia — Mediating for a lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad; their efforts are threatened by the escalation.
UN mission in Afghanistan — Confirmed civilian casualties from Monday's strikes, giving international weight to Kabul's protest.
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — Blamed by Pakistani authorities for the recent violence; its rise is linked to the Afghan Taliban's 2021 return to power.

Why it matters

Two neighbours with a long, contested border are now exchanging air strikes, drone attacks and artillery fire, with civilians dying on both sides and each side rejecting the other's account of events. The escalation undercuts mediation by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and raises the risk of a wider conflict on India's extended neighbourhood, where the TTP's post-2021 resurgence is the core dispute.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Afghan provinces struck early Thursday: Kandahar (south), Paktia and Khost (east).
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is the formal name of the Pakistani Taliban; boosted by the Afghan Taliban's return to power in 2021.
Zabihullah Mujahid is the Afghan government spokesperson; Attaullah Tarar is Pakistan's Information Minister; Ishaq Dar is Pakistan's Foreign Minister.
Kohat and Hangu are in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province; Torkham is a border town.
Mediators seeking peace between Kabul and Islamabad: China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan claimed 28 militants killed in Monday's strikes; Afghan authorities reported at least three civilians dead, confirmed by the UN mission in Afghanistan.

Mains framing

The Pakistan-Afghanistan flare-up illustrates how a cross-border insurgency can turn into inter-state hostilities. Pakistan's core grievance is that the Afghan Taliban permit the TTP and, as Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told the UN General Assembly sidelines, more than two dozen anti-Pakistan groups to operate from Afghan territory — an accusation Kabul denies. Triggering events on the ground (six security personnel killed in Hangu; a suicide bombing and 20-hour gunbattle in Kohat killing at least 21, mostly police) pushed Islamabad towards kinetic action, while its Monday strikes and Thursday's hits on 10 sites in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost produced civilian deaths confirmed in part by the UN mission, a formal Afghan protest and threats of retaliation. The escalation ladder — air strikes, claimed drone launches, mortar and artillery exchanges — shows the absence of verification mechanisms: each side's factual claims are flatly rejected by the other. The way forward suggested by the story lies in the mediation track involving China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and in "credible and verifiable action" against militant networks as Pakistan itself demands, rather than reciprocal strikes that mainly kill civilians and harden positions.

Key terms

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): The Pakistani Taliban; blamed by Pakistani authorities for recent attacks, and emboldened since the Afghan Taliban retook power in 2021.
Torkham: A Pakistani border town which Pakistani officials say was targeted by Afghan Taliban drones.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Pakistan's northwestern province bordering Afghanistan; contains Hangu district and the city of Kohat, sites of recent militant attacks.
UNAMA (UN mission in Afghanistan): UN presence in Afghanistan that confirmed the civilian casualties from Monday's Pakistani air strikes.
Cross-border infiltration: Militant movement across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border; Pakistani troops said they foiled such an attempt before the drone and shelling incidents.

Practice questions

Discuss how the resurgence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan after 2021 has reshaped Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, using the recent cross-border strikes as a case study.
Examine the role of third-party mediators such as China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in de-escalating conflicts between neighbouring states. What limits their effectiveness?
"Cross-border counter-terrorism strikes risk converting an insurgency problem into an inter-state conflict." Critically evaluate in the light of the Pakistan-Afghanistan escalation.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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