After Taliban vows ‘appropriate response’, Pakistan denies role in strikes on Afghanistan. All about the fresh tensions

After Kabul vowed to retaliate on Tuesday (Nov 25), Pakistan denied any role in the air strikes launched in Afghanistan in which at least nine kids and a woman were killed. Islamabad's claim came after the Taliban accused it of launching the strikes and vowed to "respond appropriately". The strikes were reportedly launched in Khost province. The Taliban government accused Pakistan of targeting a civilian house, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posting on X that the strikes were carried out by Pakistani forces.

Pakistani military spokesperson, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said, “Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan. Whenever we conduct a strike, it is announced openly and properly. Pakistan never attacks civilian populations. The allegations of the interim Afghan government are baseless.

“Last night, around 12 o'clock, Pakistani invading forces carried out a bombing on the home of a local resident… in the Mughalgay area of Gerbaz district in Khost province,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X earlier. In the attack, nine children, five boys and four girls, and one woman were killed in Khost province.

A day earlier, an explosion rocked the bordering province of Peshawar in Pakistan after a suicide bomber attack at the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary (FC). At least three people were killed, and many others were injured in the attack, said police. The civilian paramilitary force, renamed to Federal Constabulary (FC) by the government in July, is located in a crowded area, close to a military cantonment.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the Monday attack, but Islamabad has blamed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it accuses of operating from Afghan soil. Earlier this month, another suicide blast in Islamabad killed 12 people. The attack was claimed by a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.

The relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have deteriorated since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. In October, deadly border clashes between the two neighbours killed around 70 people on both sides. Although a ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkey, negotiations in Istanbul failed to provide a lasting peace deal as both nations level accusations of attacks and sheltering militants.