Pakistan strikes Kandahar military facilities in Afghanistan as tensions hit ‘red line'. Details here
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Pakistan strikes Kandahar military facilities in Afghanistan as tensions hit ‘red line'. Details here")
A file image of war-torn Afghanistan for representation Photograph: (AFP)
Pakistan launched significant military strikes against Kandahar and eastern Afghanistan on Sunday (March 15), targeting TTP hubs and Taliban infrastructure. This escalation follows intercepted Afghan drone attacks on Rawalpindi.
Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul reached a volatile peak on Sunday (March 15) as Pakistan announced a series of military strikes against targets inside southern Afghanistan. The operation, which followed weeks of intensifying cross-border skirmishes, marked a significant escalation in the ongoing regional security crisis.
Pakistan’s security apparatus said that its forces successfully neutralised critical infrastructure within Kandahar. As per reports, the strikes decimated technical support hubs and specialised equipment storage facilities. These locations are particularly sensitive, as Kandahar serves as the power base for the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. Further operations targeted a strategic tunnel network reportedly utilised by both the Afghan Taliban and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant organisation Islamabad holds responsible for a surging wave of domestic violence.
Local accounts from Kandahar corroborate the intensity of the offensive. Residents described the roar of military aircraft overhead throughout the night, followed by the sight of flames erupting from mountainous terrain near military installations. Reports of additional aerial activity emerged from Spin Boldak and the eastern province of Khost, signalling a broad geographic reach to the hostilities.
The Taliban administration in Kabul has vehemently challenged Pakistan's narrative. Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Taliban, downplayed the military impact of the strikes. He claimed the bombardment primarily damaged a drug rehabilitation centre and empty storage containers, insisting that the targeted sites lacked the strategic or militant significance claimed by Pakistani officials.
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This exchange followed a weekend of heightened confrontation. Islamabad maintained it intercepted multiple drone attacks directed at sensitive sites, including its primary military headquarters in Rawalpindi. President Asif Ali Zardari has characterised these provocations as a crossing of a "red line," warning that the state would not tolerate threats to its civilian population.
