Shafaq News- Kabul/ Islamabad

Afghanistan on Sunday accused Pakistan of killing 25 civilians in airstrikes on a house in eastern Nangarhar province after Islamabad acknowledged cross-border operations against groups it alleges were planning attacks inside Pakistan.

In a statement carried by local media, Nangarhar police spokesperson Sayed Tayyeb Hammad said the strikes hit residential areas, causing civilian casualties, while the Defense Ministry condemned the action as a breach of Afghan airspace and international law, holding the Pakistani military responsible and warning of a response “at a suitable time.”

In Islamabad, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that seven sites described as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and ISIS-K camps near the border were struck in retaliation for recent attacks in Pakistan that authorities attribute to militants operating from Afghan territory. He did not disclose precise locations.

The operation followed escalating violence in Pakistan’s northwest, including a suicide attack on a security convoy in Bannu that killed two soldiers and a vehicle bombing at a compound in Bajaur that left 11 soldiers and a child dead. Pakistani officials identified the Bajaur attacker as an Afghan national and asserted that evidence links recent assaults, including a mosque bombing in Islamabad that killed 31 worshippers, to leaders based in Afghanistan.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since October 2025, when border clashes left dozens dead following explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials attributed to Pakistan.