Alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan have killed ten people including children.

A fragile peace along the disputed Pakistan-Afghanistan border shattered today amid accusations from the Taliban led administration in Kabul that the Pakistani military conducted deadly overnight airstrikes deep within Afghan territory. The claims, which Pakistani officials swiftly denied, have plunged the already strained bilateral relationship into a new, dangerous crisis, with the alleged targeting of civilians and the alleged killing of at least nine children drawing immediate and severe international condemnation. This latest escalation comes just weeks after a Qatari and Turkish-mediated ceasefire attempted to calm cross-border skirmishes that have plagued the frontier for months.

According to a furious official statement released by Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Afghan administration, Pakistani forces conducted air raids in at least three eastern provinces: Khost, Kunar, and Paktika. The spokesperson claimed the most devastating strike occurred in the Gurbuz district of Khost province, where a civilian house was allegedly bombed. The alleged attack, Mujahid stated via the social media platform X, resulted in the deaths of ten Afghan nationals, tragically comprising nine children, five boys and four girls and one woman. Mujahid described the strikes as “atrocities” and a “flagrant violation of Afghan territory,” warning that Afghanistan considered the use of its airspace and the defense of its people to be its “legitimate right,” and would give the “necessary response” at the appropriate time. Separately, strikes in Kunar and Paktika allegedly wounded four other civilians.

In a direct counter-statement from Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, unequivocally denied the Afghan claims during a press briefing. He asserted that the Pakistan Army had not conducted any operation inside Afghanistan overnight. “We announce and acknowledge whenever we carry out such strikes,” Major General Chaudhry stated, emphasizing that Pakistan “does not target and kill civilians.” The spokesperson reiterated Islamabad’s long-standing position that its counter-terrorism operations are focused solely on the militants, specifically the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who Islamabad claims use sanctuaries on Afghan soil to launch attacks into Pakistan. The latest escalation follows a deadly attack on a paramilitary installation in Peshawar just one day prior, an attack which, though unclaimed, is widely suspected to be the work of TTP or affiliated groups.

The immediate casualty figures, with the majority being children, have ignited widespread public anger in Afghanistan and drawn scrutiny from humanitarian bodies globally. While direct independent verification of the strike sites remains severely limited due to security concerns and access restrictions, the claims align with patterns of previous cross-border incidents where civilian life has been caught in the deadly fire. According to a recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, published as part of its World Report 2025, past cross-border fire by Pakistani security forces has previously resulted in civilian casualties, including deaths in provinces like Khost and Paktia, underscoring the lethal risks inherent in these counter-terrorism tactics near populated areas. Furthermore, the report highlights the dire humanitarian context, where the majority of Afghanistan’s population is already in desperate need of aid.

The current situation unravels months of painstaking diplomatic efforts. The October ceasefire, brokered by regional partners, was intended to create space for dialogue aimed at securing a firm commitment from the Afghan administration to prevent TTP militants from operating along the 2,600 kilometre border, which Afghanistan does not officially recognize as an international boundary. The failure of subsequent talks, which Pakistan attributes to the Afghan side refusing to provide written guarantees regarding the TTP, has now seemingly led to a return to kinetic action. The alleged November 25 strikes signal a drastic departure from the diplomatic track, raising the specter of a prolonged, low-intensity conflict that threatens to further destabilize the South Asian region. With both sides issuing strong warnings and asserting their right to defensive action, the international community is urgently calling for restraint to prevent a full-scale conflagration that would exact a devastating toll on civilians on both sides of the Durand Line.