Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban claim of strikes in KP and Balochistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday dismissed claims by the Afghan Taliban administration that it had carried out strikes on alleged Daesh hideouts in the border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, saying instead that a rudimentary drone had entered Pakistani airspace and was brought down.

In a statement issued through its Fact Checker account on X, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the Afghan Taliban regime, through official statements and what it described as propaganda channels, had claimed to have used rudimentary drones against alleged Daesh camps in the two provinces.

The ministry said the claim was untrue and added that militant camps, including those linked to Daesh and more than two dozen other organisations, were operating from areas under the control of the Afghan Taliban administration. The drone incident took place in Khyber district of KP, where the aircraft was detected and neutralised by the Pakistan Air Force’s air defence system after entering Pakistani airspace.

The Afghan Taliban administration regularly issues such statements to deflect attention from what it described as its support for militant violence in neighbouring countries through groups including Daesh, Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan.

"The claims are false as usual. Terrorist camps including that of Daesh and more than two dozen other terrorists organisations are factually located, run and patronised from inside the territories under control of Afghan Taliban regime"

The Pakistani statement came after Kabul said it had conducted air operations against what it described as militant positions in Pakistan. The Taliban government’s defence ministry said in a post on X that hideouts in KP and Balochistan, both bordering Afghanistan, were targeted by the Afghan air force on Thursday night.

Rising tensions along the border

The latest exchange comes against the backdrop of worsening security tensions between the two countries. Pakistan has seen an increase in militant attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021.

After repeated but unsuccessful diplomatic efforts to persuade Kabul to act against militants operating from Afghan territory, Islamabad launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq earlier this year. The operation killed scores of Taliban operatives and allied militants.

Border fighting broke out last October after the Afghan Taliban and allied militants launched what it described as unprovoked attacks on Pakistani border posts. More than 200 Taliban fighters and allied militants were killed in those clashes, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred.

Despite several rounds of talks, the two sides have not been able to reach an understanding, with the impasse attributed to the Afghan Taliban administration’s unwillingness to move against militant groups.