There are reports indicating that Pakistan has conducted airstrikes in Kabul on Thursday night, targeting the leadership of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). A spokesperson for the Taliban government in Afghanistan confirmed that explosions were heard in the capital, Kabul, but did not specify whether cross-border airstrikes had occurred.
Zabihullah,a Taliban spokesperson, said late Thursday evening: “The sound of an explosion was heard in the city of Kabul. However, no one should worry, it is all well and good. The investigation of the incident is underway, no report of any damage has been given so far.”
However, former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad appeared to confirm the cross-border air strikes by Pakistan, expressing concern over the development. Khalilzad called it “huge escalation” and warned of the risks posed to the region.
Khalilzad posted on X on Friday: “Today’s Pakistani strikes against Afghanistan’s capital are a huge escalation and pose dangerous risks. In recent days, Taliban operatives have been active in Pakistan attacking ISIS and killing a number of its leaders. The Pakistanis have been recklessly backing ISIS operatives against Afghanistan and their own Baloch nationalist insurgency. The Afghans, in turn, have been permissive towards the TTP, the Pakistani Taliban.”
“Military escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan is not the answer. It is unlikely to work and will increase death and destruction in both countries. There is an alternative with better prospects: negotiations between Kabul and Islamabad to deal with the terrorist sanctuaries on both sides of the Durand line,” the diplomat added.
Multiple blasts in Kabul
News agency IANS reported that multiple explosions were heard in Kabul sending residents into panic. Several neighbourhoods are reported to have been hit by the alleged Pakistani air strikes. Reports talked about sounds of aircraft overhead in Kabul when the explosions happened.
The blasts were reportedly concentrated in District 8 in eastern Kabul, where key government facilities and residential buildings are located.
The airstrikes followed comments by Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the National Assembly, where he suggested that diplomatic restraint was nearing its end.
Pakistan’s warning
“Enough is enough, our patience has run out. Terrorism from Afghan soil is intolerable,” Asif said. He added that there will be “collateral damage” if Pakistani security forces continue to come under attack.
While Pakistan is mum on the Kabul explosions, the timing of the blasts and Minister Asif’s comments point to military action from Islamabad.
There are also multiple reports that mobile internet services have been suspended in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, without any official notification.
It may be noted here that Pakistan blames Afghanistan for funding and arming the TTP, which has been carrying out attacks against Pakistani military personnel. In the latest such attack, the TTP on October 8 killed 11 Pakistani soldiers in an ambush near the Afghan border. The dead included two senior military officers.
The escalation in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan came amid a visit by Afghanistan’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to New Delhi. Muttaqi is leading the first high-level delegation from Kabul to India since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021.