Pakistan launched precision aerial and drone strikes targeting 10 locations in Afghanistan on September 24, 2026, following a cross-border drone attack. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the military action was a necessary measure of self-defense after air defense systems intercepted intruding drones.
Military tensions along the border escalated sharply after Islamabad confirmed that its air defense systems detected, tracked and neutralised all the intruding drones on September 23. The aerial vehicles had crossed from Afghan territory before being neutralized before reaching their intended targets.
Attaullah Tarar Details Precision Strikes Against Ten Afghan Sites
Following the thwarted incursion, Pakistan carried out a series of targeted military operations. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced in a publication on X that the armed forces struck 10 specific locations across the border that officials claim were utilized to store weapons and direct drone operations.
Attaullah Tarar stated in a post on X that Pakistan’s air defense systems detected drones launched from Afghan territory on Wednesday, which were tracked and neutralized before they could reach any of their targets.
Attaullah Tarar, Information Minister of Pakistan
The strikes were deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan. Tarar also stated in a social media update on September 24, 2026, that Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones on September 23, launched from Afghan territory.
Attaullah Tarar noted that Pakistan carried out precision air and drone strikes against 10 targets in Afghanistan, adding that the strikes were intentional, precise, measured, and proportionate, and were strictly limited to established military targets directly connected to the attempted attacks against Pakistan.
Attaullah Tarar, Information Minister of Pakistan
Tarar added that the country acted in exercise of its sovereign right to self-defence and warned that any further provocative action from the Afghan Taliban will receive a firm and decisive response. Afghan local officials provided a differing on-the-ground assessment of the aftermath, noting that the strikes hit several areas of the southeastern province of Khost.
Khost Province Impacts and Differing Casualty Reports
While Islamabad maintained that the operation struck infrastructure directly connected to cross-border hostility, provincial authorities in Afghanistan reported no casualties resulting from the strikes in Khost province, according to Mustaghfir Gurbaz, spokesperson for the governor of Khost.
Mustaghfir Gurbaz reported that there were no casualties.
Mustaghfir Gurbaz, Spokesperson for the Governor of Khost
The cross-border exchange follows separate military engagements and reports from different sides. Pakistani authorities reported 28 militants killed in airstrikes on suspected hideouts of armed groups in eastern Afghanistan, whereas Kabul stated that three civilians were killed and four others wounded during those nighttime strikes around 3 a.m. in the Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal in Paktika province.
Militant Violence Preceding the Border Escalation
The recent military actions follow a wave of heavy violence in the northwestern part of Pakistan and along the common border following two deadly attacks against Pakistani security forces. Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering extremists who organize cross-border attacks, while the Taliban government of Afghanistan denies harboring anti-Pakistan insurgents and claims extremism is an internal problem of Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities stated that the aerial operation followed a pre-planned security forces action in the northwest of the country conducted based on intelligence information.
Islamabad Demands Action Against Cross-Border Sanctuaries
Pakistani officials have repeatedly conveyed their concerns for years to the Afghan Taliban regime and its interlocutors over the continued presence of terrorist sanctuaries and support networks on Afghan soil instead of taking credible and verifiable action against those using Afghan territory. Tarar emphasized that threats, denials or attempts to deflect responsibility by the Afghan Taliban would neither alter the facts nor constrain Pakistan’s inherent right to defend its territory, its people and its national security.
Attaullah Tarar stated that threats, denials, or attempts to deflect responsibility by the Afghan Taliban would neither alter the facts nor constrain Pakistan’s inherent right to defend its territory, its people, and its national security.
Attaullah Tarar, Information Minister of Pakistan
The government in Islamabad reiterated that neither terrorist groups nor the Afghan Taliban regime itself will be accepted or tolerated in launching attacks from Afghan territory, warning that any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty will draw an immediate and decisive response.