Pakistan has carried out air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan in response to what it described as drone incursions launched from Afghan territory, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Thursday.
In a post on X, Tarar said the strikes were conducted under Pakistan’s “sovereign right to self-defence” and targeted locations allegedly used to launch and store drones involved in attempted attacks against Pakistan. He described the strikes as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate”, saying they were limited to identified military objectives linked to the attempted attacks.
The operation followed the interception of eight drones that Pakistan said entered its airspace from Afghanistan on Wednesday. According to Pakistani security sources, four drones were shot down near the Torkham border, while another four were intercepted in mountainous areas near Kohat.
Tarar described the drone incursions as a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He said Pakistan’s air defence systems detected, tracked and neutralised the drones before they could reach their intended targets.
Afghan officials, meanwhile, reported Pakistani strikes in several parts of the country, including the eastern provinces of Khost and Paktia. A spokesman for the Khost governor said the strikes there caused no casualties, while Afghan officials also reported an overnight airstrike in Kandahar.
The latest strikes come amid worsening relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militant violence. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militant groups to operate from Afghan soil and launch attacks against Pakistan. Kabul has denied the accusations and maintained that militant violence inside Pakistan is an internal issue.
Tarar said Pakistan had repeatedly raised concerns with the Afghan Taliban government and other interlocutors over alleged terrorist sanctuaries and support networks in Afghanistan.
He accused Kabul of failing to take what Pakistan considers credible and verifiable action against those networks and warned that Islamabad would not tolerate attacks launched from Afghan territory.
“Any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty will be met with an immediate and decisive response,” Tarar said, while calling on the Afghan Taliban government to stop hostile activities and take effective and sustained action against militant groups operating from Afghan soil.
At the same time, Tarar said Pakistan did not want to escalate tensions and remained committed to regional peace, dialogue and constructive engagement.
The latest confrontation follows Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week in eastern Afghanistan. Pakistan said those strikes targeted militant hideouts, while Afghan authorities and the UN reported civilian casualties, underscoring the growing risks from the continuing cross-border conflict
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