KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban administration have further escalated following a series of airstrikes and drone attacks exchanged between the two sides.
Pakistan’s military confirmed that it carried out an airstrike on an oil storage facility in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Thursday night. In a statement, the military said more than 600 tons of petroleum products were destroyed and claimed the facility was used by the Taliban to support militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.
Taliban officials rejected the claim, saying the fuel depot belonged to the private airline Kam Air and was used to supply fuel to civilian aircraft as well as United Nations flights operating in Afghanistan. Videos circulating online show a large fire engulfing the facility, which is located near Kandahar International Airport. Kam Air officials have also confirmed that the depot belonged to the company.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the airstrikes targeted what he described as “terrorist facilities” and logistical bases in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar. He denied that civilians were targeted.
However, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that at least four civilians were killed and 14 others, including women and children, were wounded in strikes in Kabul.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military said Afghan Taliban forces launched several drones toward Pakistani territory on Friday. The drones were intercepted before reaching their targets, according to the military. However, debris from the drones reportedly injured four civilians — including two children in Quetta and two others in Kohat and Rawalpindi.
“Two rudimentary drones of terrorist FAK,nurtured by Afghan Taliban regime, were successfully intercepted by the Pakistan security forces using electronic counter measures. No military or other infrastructure was hit, other than minor damage due to debris of the forced crashing of drones.”
Taliban authorities, however, said they had carried out drone attacks against Pakistani military installations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the capital Islamabad. The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense claimed that a military facility known as the “Hamza” center in Islamabad’s Faizabad area was targeted, causing heavy casualties and financial losses to Pakistani forces.
“In continuation of the ongoing “RejectOppression” retaliatory operation At about 5:00 PM today, Afghan Air Forces carried out an airstrike on the Pakistani military’s strategic center, “Hamza” in Faizabad, Islamabad…”
Pakistani media reported that two drones flying near the Faizabad area were shot down by air defenses, after which the country’s airspace was temporarily closed before being reopened.
The exchange of air and drone strikes follows Pakistani bombardments across four Afghan provinces — Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia and Paktika.
According to United Nations data, Pakistani attacks during the recent escalation have killed at least 75 civilians and wounded 193 others in Afghanistan. The continued violence has also displaced thousands of families in border regions.
The rise in violence has strained relations between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities in Kabul. For years, Pakistan maintained close ties with the Afghan Taliban and hosted many of the movement’s leaders and fighters during the two decades of war against the Western-backed Afghan government that preceded the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
In recent months, however, relations have deteriorated sharply, with both sides exchanging accusations and military actions along the border. Pakistan has carried out several airstrikes in border areas and, in some cases, deeper inside Afghanistan.
The continuing violence and cross-border tensions have raised concerns among regional governments and international organizations about further instability along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Calls from regional countries and humanitarian groups for restraint and dialogue between the two sides have so far failed to halt the hostilities.
