A Pakistani air strike in Afghanistan’s Khost province killed nine children on Monday night, according to the Taliban government. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the strike hit a house in the Mughalgai area of Gurbuz district, also killing one woman. He added that Pakistani forces carried out additional attacks in Kunar and Paktika provinces, leaving four civilians injured.
“Last night, around 12 o’clock, Pakistani invading forces carried out a bombing on the home of a local resident, Wilayat Khan son of Qazi Mir, in the Mughalgay area of Gerbaz district in Khost province, as a result of which 9 children (5 boys and 4 girls) and one woman were martyred, and his home was destroyed,” Mujahid posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict has now stretched on for more than a year, with both sides engaging in sporadic attacks since 2022, shortly after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021. The latest clashes, focused largely around Kabul, Khost, Jalalabad and Paktika, mark a sharp escalation as several rounds of negotiations have failed to ease tensions.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of allowing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to carry out terror strikes on its soil – an allegation Kabul has repeatedly rejected. While the Afghan government denies any attempt to destabilise Pakistan, the TTP is widely believed to be working toward creating its own emirate across both countries. Neither the Taliban authorities nor the TTP recognise the Durand Line, the long-disputed border separating the two nations.
According to Middle East Eye, the Afghan government may not be directly coordinating with the TTP but is also not taking steps to restrain the group, reportedly out of fear of a potential “mutiny.” Afghan journalist Shabbir Ahmed told the outlet that “the Taliban regime views the TTP not as terrorists but as ideological kin and historical battlefield allies.” So far, hundreds of people have lost their lives in the ongoing violence.