Kabul: Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan's eastern provinces of Kunar and Paktika killed at least three people and injured several others on Monday, according to Afghan authorities, as tensions between the two neighbours continue to escalate.
ANI reported, citing Tolo News, that Pakistani fighter jets struck several areas early Monday. Two strikes hit Barmal district in Paktika, targeting the Rakha and Torkandi areas. One struck an empty house and another hit a former shop, causing damage but no reported casualties.
A separate strike in Kunar reportedly killed three people and injured several others.
The Pakistani military has said its operations target militant hideouts, while Afghan authorities have described the strikes as violations of Afghan territory. Associated Press reported that Pakistan said its latest strikes killed 28 militants, while Afghan authorities reported three civilian deaths and four injuries. The claims could not be independently reconciled.
The latest strikes add to a growing record of civilian casualties from cross-border fighting.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) documented 399 civilian casualties — 57 killed and 342 injured — between April 1 and June 30, attributing all the cross-border civilian casualties it recorded during that period to Pakistani security forces. Women and children accounted for a significant proportion of the casualties.
UNAMA had previously recorded 764 civilian casualties — 372 killed and 392 injured — between January 26 and March 31, with most attributed to airstrikes.
UNAMA has repeatedly called on both sides to halt cross-border fighting and protect civilians. The UN Secretary-General has also urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their differences through diplomacy.
At the centre of the worsening relationship is the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group that is separate from Afghanistan's Taliban government but shares ideological and historical links with it.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing TTP leaders and fighters to operate from Afghan territory and of failing to prevent attacks against Pakistan. Kabul has repeatedly rejected the allegation and says Pakistan's military operations violate Afghan sovereignty. AP reported that recent attacks inside Pakistan, including the deadly violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have intensified Islamabad's pressure on Kabul.
The dispute has produced a cycle of attacks inside Pakistan, Pakistani military operations across the border and retaliatory action by Afghan forces. It has also become increasingly difficult to contain through diplomacy. China helped mediate an earlier escalation in 2026, with Beijing urging both sides to de-escalate and return to negotiations.
The confrontation risks turning a dispute over militant safe havens into a broader interstate security crisis.
China has a direct interest in preventing prolonged instability. Beijing has invested heavily in Pakistan and has also sought greater diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan. Reuters reported in March that Chinese mediation helped ease an earlier round of intense Pakistan-Afghanistan fighting, while AP reported that the latest escalation is again complicating Chinese mediation efforts.
The fighting also adds to Afghanistan's already severe humanitarian pressures. UN agencies have warned that cross-border hostilities are contributing to displacement and disrupting humanitarian assistance.
For Pakistan, the immediate concern is the threat from militant attacks inside its territory. For Afghanistan's Taliban authorities, continued Pakistani strikes raise questions of sovereignty and civilian protection. The longer the cycle continues, the greater the risk of further displacement and instability along the border.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had the right to defend its territory against Pakistani military action and warned Islamabad of a "crushing response" to further strikes, reported ANI.
Mujahid was responding to allegations by a Pakistani military spokesperson that militant groups were using Afghan territory to recruit, train and arm fighters for attacks inside Pakistan.
The competing claims underline the central problem in the dispute: Pakistan wants Kabul to act against militants it says are operating from Afghanistan, while the Taliban government rejects the accusation and objects to Pakistani military action on Afghan soil.
(With inputs from ANI | Tolo News | UNAMA | Associated Press | Reuters | United Nations)