Pakistani airstrikes hit eastern Afghanistan following police facility attack in Kohat

Cross-border airstrikes in eastern provinces

Pakistani aircraft launched strikes across eastern Afghanistan on Monday, hitting sites in Kunar and Paktika provinces as well as Nangarhar. The strikes disrupted nearly three months of relative calm along the border. Afghan officials reported civilian casualties from the bombardment, while Pakistani security sources stated that the strikes targeted militant compounds. Pakistan's military did not immediately issue a formal statement regarding the operation.

In Kunar province, a strike hit a residential house, killing three members of the single family living there and injuring four other people. In the Barmal district of Paktika province, bombs struck two locations, destroying a shop and an empty house without causing casualties. Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat detailed the damage in a public statement following the strikes.

In Barmal District of Paktika, two locations were bombarded, destroying one shop and one unoccupied house, with no casualties reported.

Competing casualty reports and official positions

Afghan and Pakistani sources provided sharply contrasting accounts of the outcome. Pakistani security officials stated that the airstrikes hit militant hideouts across Nangarhar, Kunar, and Paktika, killing 28 suspected fighters. The Taliban administration in Kabul rejected assertions that militants were operating from the targeted locations, stating that the victims were civilians, and announced that it would prepare a response.

Last night, once again, Pakistani invading forces bombed civilian areas in Afghanistan's Kunar and Paktika provinces.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of providing shelter to insurgents who cross the border to carry out attacks on Pakistani soil. The Taliban administration maintains that armed violence inside Pakistan remains an internal issue for Islamabad rather than an Afghan responsibility.

Escalation following attacks in Pakistan

The airstrikes followed a suicide bombing on Friday against a police facility in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat. Reports on the death toll in Kohat ranged between 16 and 22 people. That bombing followed an attack in late July by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on a military checkpoint in the Tank district, which killed at least 15 people, including 12 Pakistani soldiers.

Pattern of military friction and air capabilities

Cross-border military operations between the two countries have escalated since February, when both militaries engaged in their heaviest clashes in years. In March, a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul killed more than 400 people; the Taliban stated the strike hit a drug rehabilitation centre, while Pakistan maintained it targeted terrorist support infrastructure and military installations. In late June, Pakistani air raids in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar killed 25 suspected extremists according to Islamabad, while Kabul alleged civilian deaths. Afghanistan responded in July by launching drones into Pakistani territory, which Islamabad reported shooting down.

Data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies shows a marked disparity in air power between the two states. Pakistan maintains an air fleet of 422 combat aircraft and more than 260 helicopters. Afghanistan operates no fighter jets, relying instead on an inventory of at least six aircraft, 23 helicopters, and military drones.