Afghanistan's foreign ministry summoned the chargé d'affaires at Pakistan's embassy in Kabul and formally protested airstrikes it said violated Afghan territory and struck civilian homes in Kunar, Paktia and Paktika provinces.
The Taliban-led administration reported at least 36 civilian deaths and more than 160 injuries from the Sunday-night attacks. Those figures and the characterisation of the targets came from Afghan officials and were disputed by Pakistan, which said its operation was directed at militant hideouts linked to violence inside Pakistan.
Afghan deputy government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said an initial strike hit a house in Paktia, killing an older man and a child. He alleged that a second attack occurred after neighbours arrived to help, killing 28 villagers and wounding 158. In Paktika, officials reported six deaths, mostly women and children, at another home. A strike in Kunar was said to have killed livestock but no people.
Pakistan connected its military action to an assault on the Rangers' regional headquarters in Karachi. According to Pakistan's military media wing, members of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan splinter group, drove an explosives-filled vehicle into the gate, threw grenades and entered the compound. Three Rangers and three attackers were killed, while a wounded fourth suspect was captured. The group claimed responsibility.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said forces conducted a ground operation along the frontier and then attacked safe havens, killing 29 militants. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of allowing TTP-linked groups to operate from Afghan territory. Kabul rejects accusations that justify cross-border force.
The competing accounts left central questions unresolved: whether each site was civilian, militant or mixed; how casualties were counted; and whether fighters were present. The evidence packet contained detailed claims from both governments but no independent on-site verification.
Relations had already deteriorated through border clashes, allegations of support for armed groups and earlier airstrikes. The latest operation came less than three weeks after Pakistan reported hitting other militant infrastructure in Afghanistan. Several negotiation rounds failed to create a durable ceasefire, despite Chinese-hosted talks and pledges to avoid escalation.
Afghanistan's diplomatic protest did not itself resolve responsibility, but it moved the dispute into formal state channels while public anger over the reported civilian toll grew. Further military retaliation would risk expanding a cycle in which militant attacks inside Pakistan are followed by cross-border operations and new Afghan casualties.
A credible accounting would require access to the affected locations, identification of victims and disclosure of targeting evidence. Until then, the death toll and residential damage should be understood as Afghan official reports, while Pakistan's assertion that it struck militants remains its stated justification.
