Pakistan’s president warned Saturday that Afghan Taliban forces have crossed a “red line” after drone attacks on civilian areas inside Pakistan, and the countries’ accusations of cross-border strikes continued hours later.
Asif Ali Zardari said the Taliban “crossed a red line” by attempting to target Pakistan’s civilians, Reuters? No—AP reported the statement in a Saturday update describing the warning as the latest escalation in fighting that erupted late last month. Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded claims of drone and airstrike attacks amid a dispute that China and Turkey have sought to ease through ceasefire efforts that have not produced a lasting agreement.
Pakistan said its forces intercepted drones launched on Friday, according to the report, and it said falling debris injured two children in the city of Quetta as well as two people elsewhere in the country. The AP story also said that, later Saturday, Pakistan’s air force carried out strikes in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar Province, according to state-run media and accounts from security officials.
Pakistan TV, citing security officials, said the strikes targeted an Afghan military facility that had allegedly been used to launch drone attacks into Pakistan a day earlier. The report said Pakistan TV also described the facility as being used—along with the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban—for “acts of terrorism” in Pakistan, and that the latest strikes were intended to signal to Kabul that Afghan territory cannot be used for cross-border attacks against Pakistan.
The AP report said there was no immediate comment from Kabul on the Kandahar strikes. Afghanistan had earlier accused Pakistan of airstrikes in Kabul and other areas in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, saying at least six civilians were killed and 15 others were injured. Hours after that accusation, the report said Kabul claimed its air force responded by targeting military installations near Islamabad and elsewhere in northwestern Pakistan.
Pakistan denied targeting civilians and said its operations focus on Pakistani Taliban militants and their support networks. The report also said Islamabad has described the conflict as an “open war,” adding to concerns about regional stability as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has engulfed the Middle East and beyond.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Saturday that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near Kandahar’s airport, the AP report said, adding that the depots supply civilian and U.N. flights. Pakistan and Afghanistan have exchanged accusations for months, with Pakistan blaming the Afghan Taliban for harboring Pakistani militant groups—mainly the Pakistani Taliban—while Kabul has denied harboring militant groups.
In Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi criticized the Taliban’s position, saying on X that Afghan Taliban forces were “weaving fantasies” instead of getting rid of “terrorist organizations” that he said enjoy Taliban government hospitality. He added that such propaganda would not force Pakistan to stop its counterterrorism operations and said: “Only the end of terrorism from Afghan soil to Pakistan will,” according to the AP report.
Meanwhile, China and Afghanistan officials said restraint efforts were ongoing. The AP report said China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged for a peaceful resolution of the Afghanistan-Pakistan dispute on Friday, warning that using force worsens tensions and threatens regional stability, and that Wang spoke with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. According to the report, Wang said China’s special envoy is shuttling between the two countries to promote restraint and encourage a ceasefire, while Muttaqi said Afghanistan seeks regional peace and does not want a military conflict, adding that dialogue remains the only solution.
The AP report also referenced that a Qatari-mediated ceasefire in October had briefly reduced tensions, but that subsequent talks in Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement.