The Taliban has hinted at a potential military response to recent Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan, sharply escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
In an interview with Al Arabiya English, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Kabul’s reaction to Islamabad’s actions would “naturally” be military, though operational details would remain undisclosed.
“Naturally it would be a military response, but its details are confidential and I cannot explain further. Pakistan must receive a response for its shameful act,” Mujahid said.
On Sunday, Pakistan confirmed carrying out overnight strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar and southeastern Paktika provinces, saying it targeted militant infrastructure linked to cross-border attacks.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation hit “seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates in the border region,” citing multiple recent attacks inside Pakistan since the start of Ramadan.
Pakistani officials said the strikes were “intelligence-based and selective,” aimed at camps tied to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-linked fighters allegedly operating from Afghan territory — claims the Taliban government has repeatedly denied.
Afghan authorities, however, accused Pakistan of striking civilian areas.
In the interview, Mujahid said an extended family was hit in Nangarhar, leaving 17 dead and five injured, while a children’s school in Paktika was damaged.
“There were no armed individuals there. Only civilians were injured and killed, and civilian areas were targeted,” he said.
He also rejected Islamabad’s assertions that Afghan soil is used to stage attacks against Pakistan.
“Unfortunately, whenever attacks occur inside Pakistan, they immediately attribute them to Afghanistan without evidence and accuse us. We reject this. Afghan soil is not allowed to be used against anyone,” Mujahid said.
The airstrikes followed a surge in militant violence in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing near the Afghan border that killed 11 soldiers and a child, and another assault in Bannu that left two security personnel dead — incidents Islamabad blames on groups based across the frontier.
Border tensions have since spilled into direct clashes.
On Tuesday, Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along sectors including Torkham and Tirah, each side accusing the other of initiating hostilities.
The Pakistan Prime Minister’s spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said Afghan Taliban forces opened “unprovoked firing,” adding that Pakistani troops “responded immediately and effectively, silencing the Taliban aggression,” and warning any further provocation would be met “immediately and severely.”
Afghan officials gave a conflicting account, saying Pakistani forces fired first and Afghan troops responded defensively.
Local authorities in Nangarhar said the fighting in Nazyan district’s Shahkot area has since ceased with no Afghan casualties reported.
The latest flare-up threatens a fragile ceasefire along the 2,600-km Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
