Afghanistan’s Taliban government said on Friday its forces had carried out airstrikes on militant hideouts in Pakistan’s Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, but Islamabad quickly denied the claim. The Afghan air force carried out attacks on militant positions in two Pakistani provinces on Thursday night, the Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on X. The ministry did not specify how the operation was carried out.“These bases are alleged to have collaborated with certain hostile intelligence circles to plan and organize attacks in Afghanistan and have previously been the staging ground for multiple deadly attacks,” the Defense Ministry said.“According to preliminary information, the operation successfully hit pre-designated key targets,” the statement added, without providing details on casualties or losses.Pakistan’s Information Ministry denied the claims, saying no such attack had taken place and that only a drone from Afghanistan had entered Pakistani airspace before being intercepted.“As usual, these claims are false. Terrorist camps… are actually established, operated and funded in territory controlled by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan,” the ministry said in a post on X.Afghanistan’s announcement was Kabul’s first major offensive move against Pakistan in months and comes amid deteriorating relations between the two countries, which have accused each other of cross-border militancy.Afghanistan does not possess fighter jets but is believed to have at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to the Institute for International and Strategic Studies in London. It is understood that Taliban forces also possess drones that have been used in previous conflicts with Pakistan.Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of harboring militants responsible for attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban government denies the accusations and insists militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem.Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply this year, with hundreds of people reportedly killed in border violence and military exchanges. China’s efforts to mediate and ease tensions have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.The latest statement comes days after Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghan territory. The Taliban government said the attacks killed at least 13 people, including 11 children, and injured 14 others.However, Pakistan said the “precision strike”, which killed 26 militants, was launched in response to a recent surge in attacks in the country’s northwest.The conflicting claims underscore growing mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul, with both sides continuing to accuse each other of causing instability and armed violence along their shared border.
