South Asia — 2026-09-25

Pakistan Thwarts Afghan Taliban Border Attack and Strikes Ten Locations Inside Afghanistan

BLUFPakistan's shift from targeted counterterrorism operations to multi-province air campaigns makes at least one further airstrike inside Afghanistan very likely by October 9, heightening miscalculation risk along the border.

Pakistani security forces on Thursday repelled an attempted Afghan Taliban incursion in the Gulistan sector on the Balochistan border, killing several Taliban fighters, with intermittent exchanges of fire continuing, according to security sources cited by Reuters and The Express Tribune 12. Separately, Pakistan's air force struck 10 locations across Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost provinces on Thursday, targeting sites Islamabad said were used to launch and store drones, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said 23. Tarar said the strikes responded to eight drones launched from Afghanistan that entered Pakistani airspace near Torkham and Kohat on Wednesday and were shot down by Pakistani air defenses 23. A Taliban government spokesman said the strikes killed at least four people and vowed an "appropriate response," while a Kandahar resident described hearing a jet followed by an explosion and fire in the city center 4. The strikes follow a September 21 Pakistani air campaign that killed 28 people, which Islamabad called militants and which Afghan officials said killed three civilians 14.

Analysis
Islamabad has shifted from targeted counterterrorism strikes to overt cross-border warfare, and Pakistan very likely conducts at least one further airstrike inside Afghanistan by October 9 as the Ghazab lil Haq campaign continues alongside active border clashes at Gulistan. Moderate confidence reflects consistent reporting across Pakistani officials and cross-border resident accounts, though neither side's casualty figures can be independently verified. Sourcing is comparatively deep for this kind of bilateral conflict story, with Tarar's own statements corroborated by wire reporting and secondary synthesis converging on strike locations and drone-attack sequencing. The target set has widened from the September 21 strikes that killed 28 to a three-province campaign plus a first reported ground incursion attempt, and Kabul's drone launches may signal a preferred low-cost retaliation method testing Pakistan's air defenses without committing ground forces. A further strike would confirm Islamabad has locked in a sustained air campaign, pressuring China and Qatar to accelerate ceasefire mediation.

4 sources

Pakistan thwarts border attack, several Taliban dead, security sources say - Reuters via KELO
Pakistan carries out strikes on 10 Afghan sites after drone attack: Attaullah Tarar - The Express Tribune
Pakistan conducted strikes at 10 locations in Afghanistan in response to recent drone attacks: info minister - Dawn
Afghanistan vows to respond after Pakistani air strikes kill four - Al Jazeera