Taliban security personnel inspect the site, after Pakistani airstrike struck Gurbuz district in Afghanistan's Khost province on September 24, 2026. (AFP Photo)
Pakistan said it carried out air strikes early on Sept. 24 on 10 sites in Afghanistan that it said were used to launch drone attacks against Pakistan a day earlier, a sharp escalation in their recent fighting that threatens international mediation efforts.
In Afghanistan’s southeastern Khost province, Mustaghfir Gurbaz, a spokesman for the province’s governor, said Pakistani airstrikes had targeted several sites, including near the provincial center, at around 3:30 a.m., but that they had not caused any casualties.
The announcement of the strikes by Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar in a post on X came after officials said Afghanistan’s Taliban forces had fired eight drones and shelled Pakistani border posts after Pakistani troops foiled what they described as a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants.
The Afghan government had no immediate comment. However, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Sept. 23 denied that Afghan forces had carried out any drone attacks on Pakistan.
The conflicting statements came two days after Pakistani fighter jets struck sites in eastern Afghanistan that Islamabad said were militant hideouts.
The escalation threatens mediation efforts by Türkiye, China, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to broker a lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militants to operate from its territory and carry out attacks across the border, an accusation Kabul denies.
