Tensions flaring again: Afghanistan vows retaliation after 10 killed in Pakistani strikes on Khost

According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, nine children and a woman were killed when drones and aircraft struck a home in Khost province near the Pakistan border.

Mujahid said the house belonged to a local civilian and condemned the attack as a violation of Afghan sovereignty.

Residents in the Jige Mughalgai area were seen clearing debris from a collapsed home and preparing graves, AFP reported.

“Our message to Pakistan is simple — stop bombing ordinary people,” said local resident Sajidulrahman. “Civilians have nothing to do with this.”

Khost officials said the drone and air attacks also hit neighbouring border regions, including Kunar and Paktika, injuring at least four more people.

“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this aggression,” Mujahid said in a separate statement, adding that Afghanistan reserved the right to defend its territory, airspace, and citizens and would “respond at an appropriate time.”

Pakistan’s military has not commented on the allegations.

The strikes came just hours after a suicide bomber targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary in Peshawar, killing three officers and injuring 11.

No group claimed responsibility, but Pakistani state media suggested the attackers were Afghan nationals.

President Asif Zardari blamed the assault on “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij,” Islamabad’s label for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Pakistan accuses of operating from Afghan soil.

A separate suicide bombing earlier this month that killed 12 near a court in Islamabad was claimed by a TTP faction; Pakistani authorities say that cell was directed “step by step” from Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said there was “clear evidence” linking the Afghan Taliban to the Islamabad blast, even playing an alleged confession video of a suspect claiming Afghan involvement.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have deteriorated sharply since the Taliban takeover in 2021 and worsened after heavy border fighting in October left around 70 dead on both sides.

Although Qatar and Turkey brokered a temporary truce, multiple rounds of talks in Doha and Istanbul have failed to resolve key disputes, especially Pakistan’s demand that Kabul rein in the TTP.

Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of giving sanctuary to militants responsible for a surge in attacks in recent months. Kabul rejects this, arguing instead that Pakistan shelters anti-Afghan groups and frequently violates Afghan sovereignty.

The border between the two countries has been closed for more than six weeks since the October clashes, choking off trade.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that thousands of cargo containers remain stranded, each incurring heavy daily fees, calling the economic impact “unsustainable.”