In a significant escalation on the Durand Line, Afghanistan has launched retaliatory drone strikes inside Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban claimed the drone attacks decimated ISIS terror camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
and Balochistan. The centres were being used for planning and organising attacks on the Afghan soil, the ministry said. They claimed the drones targeted Pakistani territory following last week’s deadly airstrikes in Nangarhar and Paktia that left Afghan women and children dead.
The border crisis
Under a military offensive termed Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) launched precision strikes on suspected militant hideouts — primarily targeting the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K). These strikes specifically targeted key infrastructure in the Nangarhar and Paktia provinces, as well as in Kabul and Kandahar.
In response to initial Pakistani bombings that Kabul claimed caused civilian casualties, Afghan Taliban forces launched a large-scale ground offensive, reportedly capturing several Pakistani border outposts and military sites along the Durand Line before being met with massive retaliatory air and ground strikes by Pakistan.
In Paktia, Pakistani airstrikes reportedly destroyed a Taliban corps headquarters. In Nangarhar, multiple military bases, weapon storage depots, and border brigade infrastructure were successfully neutralised by PAF aircraft.
The airstrikes and cross-border skirmishes forced widespread displacement across the region.
The UN reported over 94,000 newly displaced individuals across eastern provinces, with dozens of civilian casualties and significant damage to health facilities, religious structures, and humanitarian sites.
The conflict prompted nations like Türkiye, Russia, and China to offer diplomatic mediation to establish a ceasefire and de-escalate the volatile border situation.
With agency inputs
