Tensions Erupt as Afghan Officials Accuse Pakistan of Deadly Airstrike, Killing Women and Children

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has accused the Pakistani military of carrying out a deadly cross-border airstrike that killed at least nine children and one woman in the southeastern province of Khost overnight, a move that threatens to shatter a fragile ceasefire between the two neighboring nations.

Details of the Attack

According to a series of statements from Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban administration, the attack occurred around midnight local time (19:30 GMT) in the Gurbuz district. Mujahid stated that “Pakistani invading forces” targeted the home of a local civilian, Waliat Khan.

“The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident… As a result, nine children [five boys and four girls] and one woman were martyred, and his house was destroyed,” Mujahid wrote on the social media platform X.

The spokesman also reported that other airstrikes hit the northeastern Kunar and eastern Paktika provinces, wounding at least four civilians. Pakistan has not issued an immediate official comment on the allegations.

Afghan Vows of Retaliation and Escalating Rhetoric

The incident has triggered a fierce response from Kabul. Later on Tuesday, Mujahid declared that Afghanistan would “respond appropriately at the right time.” In a formal statement, he asserted, “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and crime and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right.”

The language from other Afghan commentators was even more severe, reflecting deep-seated animosity. In a scathing condemnation, one statement characterized Pakistan as a “permanent and criminal enemy” and labeled the airstrike a “great and unforgivable crime.” It accused the Pakistani army of committing atrocities against Afghans for forty years and of attempting to blame Afghanistan for its own internal crises.

A Fraught Backdrop of Cross-Border Hostilities

This latest bombardment did not occur in a vacuum. It comes amidst a significant deterioration in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, which have been fraught since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The situation reached a low point in October following deadly border clashes that killed approximately 70 people on both sides.

A temporary ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, but subsequent talks in Istanbul failed to produce a lasting deal. The core sticking point remains security, particularly Pakistan’s demand that the Taliban administration in Kabul crack down on the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group waging a bloody insurgency against the Pakistani state from alleged safe havens in Afghanistan.

The airstrike in Khost comes just one day after a suicide attack targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar. The attack was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the TTP. Pakistani state media reported the attackers were Afghan nationals, and President Asif Zardari blamed “foreign-backed” militants—a term Islamabad uses for TTP fighters it claims operate from Afghan soil.

Similarly, a suicide attack in the capital, Islamabad, earlier this month, which killed at least 12 people, was also claimed by a TTP faction. Pakistan directly blamed the attack on a cell guided from Afghanistan.

A Cycle of Blame and a Precarious Future

The relationship is mired in a cycle of mutual accusation. Pakistan insists the Taliban government provides sanctuary to TTP fighters responsible for a surge in attacks within its borders. The Afghan Taliban government vehemently denies these charges and, in turn, accuses Pakistan of harboring groups hostile to Afghanistan and repeatedly violating its sovereignty.

Monday night’s airstrike represents a dangerous escalation, moving the conflict from cross-border shelling and militant attacks to alleged direct aerial bombardment by state forces. With Afghanistan vowing to “respond appropriately” and a threadbare ceasefire now in tatters, the region faces a heightened risk of renewed and open hostilities between the two uneasy neighbors.

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