Pakistani security sources say several Afghan Taliban members were killed in an exchange of fire in the Gulistan border area on Friday, with fighting ongoing. Neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan has officially confirmed the reported deaths or clashes.
The border report follows Pakistani air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said they targeted “terrorist hideouts” and drone-launching and storage sites in response to a drone incursion into Pakistan on Wednesday. Taliban officials denied that their government had launched drones against Pakistan. Afghan spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes hit Kandahar, Paktia and Khost; Afghanistan’s government had vowed an “appropriate response.”
Pakistan accuses Kabul of harbouring fighters behind cross-border attacks, while Afghanistan denies sheltering anti-Pakistani armed groups and says the attacks are Pakistan’s internal problem. The escalation threatens mediation efforts by China, Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to broker lasting peace; the neighbors experienced their worst fighting in years in February.
