Afghanistan claims strikes on militant hideouts inside Pakistan

Afghanistan's Taliban government said on Friday that its forces carried out airstrikes on militant hideouts in Pakistan's Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, a claim swiftly rejected by Islamabad. In a statement posted on X, Afghanistan's defence ministry said the Afghan Air Force targeted militant positions in the two Pakistani provinces on Thursday night. The ministry did not specify how the operation was carried out. "These bases, allegedly used in cooperation with certain hostile intelligence circles to plan and organize attacks against Afghanistan, had previously served as staging grounds for several deadly attacks," the ministry said. "According to preliminary information, the operation successfully hit its key pre-designated targets," it added, without providing details on casualties or damage. Pakistan's information ministry rejected the assertion, saying no such strikes had taken place and that only a drone from Afghanistan had entered Pakistani airspace before being intercepted. "The claims are false, as usual. Terrorist camps... are factually located, run and patronised from inside the territories under the control of the Afghan Taliban regime," the ministry said in a post on X. The Afghan announcement represents Kabul's first major offensive action against Pakistan in months and comes amid worsening relations between the two countries, which have exchanged accusations over cross-border militancy. According to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, Afghanistan does not possess fighter jets but is believed to operate at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters. Taliban forces are also known to have drones that have previously been used in clashes with Pakistan. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of sheltering militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban administration has denied the allegations, insisting that militancy is Pakistan's internal problem. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply this year, with hundreds reportedly killed in border-related violence and military exchanges. Efforts by China to mediate and ease tensions have so far failed to produce a breakthrough. The latest claims come just days after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghan territory. The Taliban government said those strikes killed at least 13 people, including 11 children, and injured 14 others. Pakistan, however, said the "calibrated strikes" killed 26 militants and were launched in response to a recent surge in attacks in the country's northwest. The competing claims underscore the deepening mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul, with both sides continuing to blame each other for instability and militant violence along the shared border.