Afghanistan said on Sunday that Pakistan had carried out airstrikes on its eastern border provinces, killing and wounding “dozens” of people. This is one of the worst developments in recent tensions between the two countries.“Last night they bombed civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, martyring and injuring dozens of people, including women and children,” government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X.Afghanistan’s Toro News reported that Pakistani troops targeted a civilian house in the Behsud district of Nangarhar province, leaving 23 members of a family trapped under rubble. According to the report, only four people have been raised so far.

The broadcast, cited by ANI, said the Pakistan Air Force attacked a religious seminary in Belmar district of Paktika province and carried out multiple airstrikes in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province.Pakistan has carried out strikes since Saturday in Belmar and Argun districts of Paktika, and Khogyani, Basod and Ghanikhel districts of Nangarhar province.Islamabad acknowledged the cross-border attack and said it targeted militant groups responsible for recent suicide attacks inside Pakistan. Pakistani media also reported that the airstrikes were focused on alleged militant camps along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.Seven camps and hideouts of Fitna Al-Khwariji (FAK) and its affiliate Daesh Khorasan Province (DKP) were attacked, Geo News reported, citing Pakistan’s Ministry of Information. The ministry said the action was carried out with “precise precision” in response to recent suicide bomb attacks in Islamabad, Bajar and Bannu during Ramzan.The airstrike came days after a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a security post in Bajaul district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan national. Hours before the latest border attack, another suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in Bannu district, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.After Saturday’s violence, Pakistan’s military said it would “not exercise any restraint” and warned that operations against those responsible would continue “irrespective of their location”, hinting at rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.Information Minister Attaullah Tallah said Pakistan has “conclusive evidence” that recent attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed 31 worshipers earlier this month, were carried out by Pakistani Taliban militants who acted on “the orders of Afghanistan-based leaders and leaders.”He claimed that Pakistan has repeatedly called on Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to prevent insurgents from using Afghan territory to attack Pakistan, but no substantive steps have been taken.In a statement, Pakistan said it expected the Afghan interim government to prevent the use of its territory against Pakistan and called on the international community to pressure Afghan authorities to honor their commitments under the Doha agreement.According to a Dawn report cited by ANI, Pakistan’s foreign ministry earlier this week said it reserved the right to target Afghanistan to protect its people amid heightened cross-border tensions following the Bajar attack. “Pakistan has a very legitimate demand that Afghan territory must not be used for terrorism inside Pakistan. Therefore, unless this demand is met, all options will clearly remain on the table, acting with patience,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a weekly press briefing.Relations between the two countries have been strained since October, when border clashes left soldiers, civilians and armed suspects from both sides dead. The violence followed an explosion in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan.