Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have accused Pakistan of carrying out overnight airstrikes in the eastern province of Khost that they say killed nine children and a woman and destroyed a family home.
Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul, said Pakistani forces “bombed” the house of a local resident, named as Wilayat Khan, in the Gerbzwo district of Khost shortly after midnight. According to his statement, five boys, four girls and one woman were killed when the building was hit and collapsed.
Mujahid said further strikes were conducted in the neighbouring provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring at least four civilians. Images circulated by Taliban officials on social media showed bodies of children laid out under blankets, though these could not be independently verified.
Pakistan’s military and foreign ministry have not yet commented publicly on the allegations. International media reported that officials in Islamabad could not immediately be reached, and there has been no statement from the Pakistani government on the reported cross-border operation.
The Taliban administration, which is not internationally recognised as Afghanistan’s government, said the strikes represented an attack on Afghan territory and civilian areas. Mujahid said on X that Pakistan had targeted “the home of a civilian”, reiterating Kabul’s position that Afghan soil should not be used for attacks on any country, and that Afghanistan expected the same approach from its neighbours.
Zabihullah Mujahid:
The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the Pakistani regime’s violation and aggression, and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right.
A suitable response will be given at an appropriate time.… pic.twitter.com/TsX8oSsXJT— Falcon Defence (@FalconDefence) November 25, 2025
The reported airstrikes came a day after a complex attack on the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary in the north-western city of Peshawar, in which three paramilitary officers were killed and 11 others wounded by two suicide bombers and a gunman. No group has claimed responsibility, but Pakistani officials have suggested that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or the Pakistani Taliban, is suspected.
The Peshawar assault followed a series of recent incidents blamed by Islamabad on fighters allegedly operating from Afghan territory. Earlier this month, a suicide bomber killed 12 people in Islamabad, the first attack targeting civilians in the Pakistani capital for around a decade. A day before that, an explosives-laden vehicle struck the gate of a military school in South Waziristan, killing three people.
Pakistan argues that TTP militants and some Baloch armed groups use Afghanistan as a safe haven, planning and launching attacks across the border. Afghan Taliban officials deny this, saying they do not allow foreign militants to operate from Afghan soil and rejecting accusations that Kabul shelters groups fighting the Pakistani state.
Tensions between the two countries escalated sharply in October, when Pakistani forces carried out strikes around Kabul that Islamabad said were aimed at the leadership of the Pakistani Taliban. In response, Taliban units attacked Pakistani border posts along much of the 2,600-kilometre frontier, triggering days of exchanges that left dozens of soldiers and fighters dead on both sides, along with civilian casualties in frontier districts.
Following those clashes, Qatar and Turkey brokered a ceasefire agreement on 19 October. Under the understanding, Afghanistan was expected to curb cross-border militant activity, while both sides pledged to avoid further strikes. Negotiations in Turkey aimed at turning the truce into a longer-term arrangement later broke down, with Pakistan seeking a written commitment on action against groups it designates as hostile and Kabul resisting such wording.
Despite the latest allegations of airstrikes deep inside Afghan territory, AP reported that the October ceasefire text formally remains in place, with no announcement that it has been revoked. Iran has in recent weeks offered to help mediate, and its national security council chief held talks in Islamabad with Pakistan’s foreign minister on regional security issues, including Afghanistan.
The cross-border confrontation has already had economic and humanitarian effects. Border crossings have faced repeated closures since October, disrupting trade flows and preventing residents on both sides from travelling for work, medical treatment or family visits. Lorry queues and stranded travellers have been reported at key crossing points, while Afghan and Pakistani traders have called for predictable access to markets.
For now, casualty figures and the precise circumstances of the reported Khost strike are based on statements from the Taliban authorities and have not been independently confirmed. With Pakistan yet to issue its own account, the incident adds a new layer of uncertainty to already strained relations between two neighbouring states that share a long, porous border and overlapping security concerns.
