Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan, Claims 22 Militants Killed: What We Know

The sky over Afghanistan was lit by Pakistani bombs again on Thursday, reopening a fault line that has refused to heal between the two neighbours.

Pakistan said its air force struck militant camps and hideouts in Afghanistan's Kunar and Helmand provinces, killing 22 fighters and destroying weapons and ammunition.

Kabul, however, gave a starkly different account: Afghan authorities said the strikes hit homes and killed nine civilians, including women and children, while injuring 11 others.

The competing claims could not be independently verified.

The strikes are the latest escalation along a 2,600-km border where Islamabad and Kabul have increasingly traded accusations of harbouring armed groups. Pakistan says militants based in Afghanistan are carrying out attacks on its territory.

Afghanistan's Taliban government denies providing them safe haven and has repeatedly condemned Pakistani airstrikes as violations of its sovereignty.

What Happened In Afghanistan?

Pakistan's Ministry of Information said the strikes were based on “credible intelligence” and targeted terrorist hideouts at two locations. The Taliban government disputed that account.

Its spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the strikes hit three houses in Kunar and Helmand, killing nine people and injuring 11. He described the operation as an act of aggression.

The disagreement over casualties is not new. Kabul has repeatedly accused Pakistan of killing civilians in previous strikes, while Islamabad has maintained that its operations are directed at militant infrastructure and that precautions are taken to avoid civilian casualties.

Reuters reported that Pakistan has carried out several airstrikes inside Afghanistan over the past two weeks.

The immediate trigger for the latest escalation was a deadly militant attack in northwestern Pakistan last month. A police facility in Kohat was attacked, killing 24 people, including 15 police officials, according to Reuters. Two days later, clashes in neighbouring Hangu killed six members of the Pakistani security forces.

Why Are Pakistan And Afghanistan Fighting Again?

The hostility has its roots in a relationship that was once far more cooperative.

Pakistan initially welcomed the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. But Islamabad's patience wore thin as attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, increased. Pakistan accuses Kabul of allowing the TTP to operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban government rejects the accusation and says militancy inside Pakistan is Islamabad's own problem.

Earlier attempts to contain the dispute have produced only temporary pauses. Chinese-mediated talks resulted in a ceasefire in March, but the underlying disagreement remained unresolved. After nearly three months of relative calm, fresh militant attacks in Pakistan triggered another round of cross-border violence.

For civilians living along the frontier, the distinction between a militant hideout and a home can become a matter of life and death. The United Nations has documented more than 1,100 civilian casualties from cross-border violence in Afghanistan this year, according to AP.

For now, Islamabad says its campaign against militants will continue. Kabul, meanwhile, has warned against further Pakistani attacks. The border remains quiet only between the explosions.