Pakistan launches overnight airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, Kabul reports civilian casualties

Pakistan carried out airstrikes overnight in eastern Afghanistan, Islamabad said on Monday, in operations it described as aimed at militant targets while Afghan authorities reported dozens of civilian casualties.

Targets, claims and casualties

Pakistan’s information minister said the strikes killed 25 militants and were directed at a group Islamabad blames for a deadly weekend attack in Karachi. The Afghan government said the airstrikes in three eastern provinces killed or wounded dozens of civilians.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strikes, calling the military action a

“cowardly act of aggression”

.

Locations and ground action

Information minister Attaullah Tarar said the offensive included ground operations in border areas and targeted Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which he described as a splinter group of the TTP. He said three targets in Paktia, Paktika and Kunar were destroyed during precision strikes, and that four militants were also killed in ground operations.

Context: recent violence and cross-border tension

The strikes come amid a period of heightened tension between the two neighbours following weeks of fighting that began in late February. The United Nations said the earlier weeks of violence killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands, and Afghan officials say Pakistani strikes in June killed 13 people.

Pakistan has said its operations aim to eliminate militant hideouts and weapons stores, especially those of the TTP, and has framed the strikes as part of its fight against militancy while it also plays a mediator role between the United States and Iran.

Recent attack in Karachi

The airstrikes followed a militant assault on a Rangers paramilitary camp in Karachi at the weekend. In that attack, explosives were detonated and gunmen fired inside the camp; authorities said three paramilitary personnel were killed and that an Afghan national was detained as one of several people involved.

Wider consequences and past incidents

Afghan authorities have repeatedly denied that militants operate from their territory and have warned of a heavy civilian toll from Pakistani operations. The United Nations has said a strike at a drug treatment centre in March killed hundreds, and the frontier has been largely closed since cross-border violence in October.

Diplomatic mediation efforts, including by China and other countries, have so far failed to produce a lasting resolution between the neighbours.