Afghanistan’s military hits Pakistan locations in response to fatal airstrike on civilians

Afghanistan's Defense Ministry announced on December 28 that Afghan military forces launched retaliatory strikes against several locations in Pakistan, in response to Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan soil.

The ministry stated that the strikes were aimed at several sites behind the “imaginary line,” referring to the border areas' housing centres and hideouts of hostile forces and their supporters who were allegedly behind attacks on Afghanistan, Caliber.Az report referencing Afghan media.

The term "imaginary line" refers to the Durand Line, the 1893 border established between the Emirate of Afghanistan and British India. Afghanistan has not recognized this boundary since the end of British colonial rule in 1947.

Details on casualties or the specific locations of the Afghan attacks have not been released.

Earlier this week, the Afghan-controlled Taliban condemned a Pakistani airstrike in southeastern Afghanistan, which Kabul claimed killed 46 people. The Afghan Defense Ministry vowed to respond to Pakistan, citing the deaths of civilians and violations of Afghanistan's sovereignty.

According to sources close to the Pakistani military, the Pakistan Air Force conducted strikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, targeting four bases of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned militant group. The strikes reportedly killed several TTP fighters.

The TTP operates primarily in northern Pakistan but is not officially aligned with the Afghan Taliban. The group has recently intensified its attacks on Pakistan’s military, and Pakistani authorities accuse the Afghan Taliban of sheltering TTP members.

By Tamilla Hasanova