Pakistan says its air defenses intercepted drones launched from Afghan territory before carrying out precision strikes on 10 locations linked to the attacks.
Pakistan carried out precision aerial and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday after its air defense systems intercepted drones launched from Afghan territory a day earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Tarar said the targeted locations were being used to launch and store drones, including platforms that Pakistan said had been deployed against its territory on Sept. 23. He said Pakistan’s air defense systems detected, tracked and neutralized the incoming drones before they could reach their intended targets.
“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defence, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” Tarar said in a statement posted on X.
He described the strikes as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate,” saying they were limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan. Pakistani security sources separately said eight drones had entered Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan on Wednesday, with four intercepted near the Torkham border and four others brought down in mountainous areas near Kohat.
Afghan officials confirmed that Pakistani aircraft conducted strikes in several areas, including Khost and Paktia provinces. A Khost provincial official said the strikes caused no casualties, while an official in Paktia reported that aircraft struck an Afghan military corps facility. Reports also indicated an overnight strike in Kandahar, although Pakistan did not publicly identify the locations of all 10 targets.
The latest strikes mark another escalation in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which have deteriorated amid repeated accusations over cross-border militancy. Islamabad has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban administration of allowing militant groups to maintain sanctuaries and support networks on Afghan soil and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Afghan authorities have rejected Pakistan’s allegations and maintained that militancy inside Pakistan is an internal matter. The two sides have also traded accusations over civilian casualties resulting from previous cross-border military operations.
The latest confrontation follows Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week against three targets in Afghanistan. Pakistan said those strikes killed 28 militants and suicide bombers, while Afghan authorities and the United Nations reported civilian casualties.
Tarar warned that Pakistan would respond to further attacks originating from Afghan territory. He said Islamabad did not seek escalation and remained committed to dialogue and regional peace, but added that this position should not be interpreted as tolerance for hostile actions.
The minister called on the Afghan Taliban administration to halt what Pakistan described as hostile activity and take concrete, verifiable and sustained action against militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
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