- By Supratik Das
- Tue, 25 Nov 2025 09:05 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pakistan Afghanistan airstrikes: At least 10 civilians, nine of them children were killed in overnight Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan, the Taliban administration said on Tuesday, escalating already fraught relations between the two neighbours amid a surge in cross-border militancy.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani aircraft bombed a residential home in Khost province shortly after midnight. He said five boys, four girls and one woman were killed when the house of a local resident, Wilayat Khan, was struck in the Mughalgay area of Gerbaz district. The house was “completely destroyed” in the attack, he wrote on X.
According to Mujahid, separate strikes hit border regions in Kunar and Paktika, injuring four civilians. Afghan officials accused Islamabad of “violating Afghan sovereignty” and warned that such actions would “carry consequences.”
Rising Tensions After Peshawar Attack
The airstrikes came only hours after Pakistan reeled from yet another deadly assault on its soil. Gunmen an suicide attackers stormed the Frontier Constabulary headquarters in Peshawar’s Saddar area on Monday evening. Police and intelligence officials told Reuters that at least two suicide bombers were involved, one detonated explosives at the main entrance while the second entered the compound.
Three personnel were killed, while security forces sealed surrounding roads and launched a sweep for possible additional attackers. Residents reported hearing gunfire and explosions late into the night as army units and police attempted to regain control of the area.
The attack deepened Islamabad’s security concerns at a time when relations with the Taliban government have plunged to their lowest point in years. Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that militant groups including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are using Afghan territory to plan and stage attacks, a charge Kabul firmly rejects.
Diplomatic Contacts Amid Crisis
This comes following a rare interaction, Pakistan’s Consul General in Jalalabad, Shafqatullah Khan, met Nangarhar Governor Mullah Muhammad Naeem Akhund on Monday, the first known high-level meeting in months. Afghan officials confirmed the meeting but did not disclose details. Sources told Dawn that the discussions centred on rising border tensions and Pakistan’s recent security losses.
Earlier this month, a suicide attack in Islamabad killed 12 people. Pakistani investigators later alleged the plot was directed “step by step” by handlers based inside Afghanistan. Multiple rounds of talks aimed at cooling tempers collapsed last month, with both sides accusing the other of failing to rein in hostile elements along the porous frontier.