Pakistan says airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 28 militants; Kabul reports 3 civilians killed

Apnews | Munir Ahmed, Abdul Qahar Afghan

Pakistani fighter jets carried out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, killing 28 suspected militants according to Islamabad, while Afghan authorities and the United Nations confirmed that three civilians died in the attacks. The cross-border strikes in Kunar and Paktika provinces follow deadly militant assaults on Pakistani security forces in Hangu and Kohat districts, intensifying bilateral friction between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban government.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Kabul of harboring the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, a charge the Afghan administration denies. The escalating hostilities threaten to undermine regional mediation efforts led by actors including China. Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid condemned the operation as a violation of sovereignty and vowed a direct response. UNAMA reported documenting over 1,100 civilian casualties from cross-border violence this year, urging compliance with international humanitarian law as tensions along the shared border continue to mount.

Comment

Cross-border air operations in Kunar and Paktika provinces illustrate the structural limits of intelligence-led kinetic strikes against decentralised Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan networks operating within rugged terrain. When retaliatory bombing campaigns target alleged safe havens without institutional border-control cooperation, the resulting civilian casualties predictably harden the political stance of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Consequently, tactical punitive measures repeatedly fail to compel Kabul to dismantle insurgent infrastructure, instead institutionalising a cycle of mutual deterrence failure. This dynamic leaves both militaries trapped in perpetual border friction while failing to neutralise the underlying command-and-control nodes directing assaults in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Strategic Question for Discussion

If kinetic air strikes in Paktika and Kunar fail to alter Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan operational calculus, what mechanism remains for Islamabad to coerce the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan into dismantling cross-border sanctuaries?

The available evidence points toward limited diplomatic leverage and economic pressure as the only remaining levers, given that neither cross-border raids nor artillery bombardments have generated sustainable deterrence. My assessment is that Islamabad will likely resort to periodic low-intensity punitive actions rather than a broader ground intervention.

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