Pakistan Conducts Airstrikes on Drone Storage Sites in Afghanistan Amid Rising Tensions

Military strikes targeted drone launch and storage sites in Khost province, resulting in no reported casualties according to local authorities.

Published On 24 Sep 202624 Sep 2026

Pakistan announced it has conducted airstrikes on ten locations in Afghanistan utilized for storing and launching drones, several of which were involved in cross-border attacks.

Thursday’s airstrikes occur amidst escalating tensions between the former allies, sparked by armed group attacks within Pakistan that led to their most severe conflict in years last February.

While Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring militants responsible for cross-border raids, Afghanistan’s Taliban administration denies hosting anti-Pakistani armed groups, asserting that such security issues are Pakistan’s internal affairs.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated on X that the airstrikes were deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate, strictly limited to identified military objectives linked directly to attempted attacks against Pakistan.

He condemned what he described as a deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistani territory by drones on Wednesday.

“This represents a blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, constituting a grave and unacceptable act of aggression,” the minister added.

According to Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Khost governor, the Pakistani airstrikes targeted several areas within Afghanistan’s southeastern Khost province.

Gurbaz confirmed that no casualties were reported as a result of the strikes.

The recent escalation was triggered by an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week, which killed at least 21 people and ended a nearly three-month period of relative calm. A faction of the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast and subsequent gun battle.

Previously on Monday, airstrikes targeting three locations in northeastern Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of three civilians in the Nurgal district of Kunar province, according to Afghan officials. Islamabad, however, claimed that the strikes eliminated 28 “terrorists”.

This ongoing escalation threatens the mediation efforts led by China, Turkiye, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to facilitate a lasting peace between the two neighboring nations.

Relations between the former allies have remained highly strained since the February clashes, which marked the worst fighting between them in years.

Source link