Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflicts: At least four people have died in Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan. Why the tension between former allies?

At least four civilians have died as a result of Pakistani airstrikes that targeted ten places in three Afghan provinces.

Officials in Kabul reported on Thursday that Pakistan had launched new airstrikes inside three Afghan districts, killing at least four people. According to Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, the strikes were recorded in the provinces of Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost.

 Following the detection and neutralization of drones launched from Afghan territory, Islamabad launched precision air and drone strikes against ten locations in Afghanistan, according to Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar. The drone invasions within Pakistan occurred on Wednesday, according to Tarar, who called them a "serious violation" of Pakistan's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defense, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” he stated.

The strikes, according to Tarar, were "deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate," and they were restricted to specific military targets that Pakistan claimed were directly connected to the attempted assaults.

As reported by Kabul, Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan for the second time this week, after three people were murdered in Kunar on Monday. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Afghan government, accused Pakistan of "aggression" for carrying out the attacks. He wrote on X (Formerly Twitter) “As a result of this criminal aggression, four Afghan civilians were martyred, Kabul strongly condemns these indiscriminate and cowardly attacks.” He continued “In an apparent attempt to justify such brazen aggression and oppression, Pakistani military circles spread a claim yesterday that drones had allegedly crossed into their territory from Afghanistan, these shameless acts of aggression and attacks by the Pakistani military regime will be met with an appropriate response through a decisive stance.”

After almost three months of relative calm, conflict between the two countries has resumed after an attack on a police base in northwest Pakistan last week that killed at least 21 people.

FAQs:

Q: What sparked the current military escalation?

A: Following months of escalating border clashes and militant attacks within Pakistan, Pakistan initiated the current operations in response to claimed cross-border drone incursions coming from Afghanistan.

Q: Are Pakistan and Afghanistan officially at war?

A: No, they are not in an official, declared war, but their relations have deteriorated into direct cross-border military actions and frequent armed clashes along their shared border.

Q: Why were Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban considered allies in the past?

A: In order to establish a friendly government on its western border, Pakistan actively backed the Taliban's formation in the 1990s [CFR]. Pakistan gave Taliban leaders fighting the US-led forces safe havens for the next 20 years.

Q: What role does India play in this dispute?

A: India is Pakistan's primary rival, and its expanding diplomatic presence and financial aid to the Afghan Taliban in Kabul have greatly increased Pakistan's fears of being surrounded diplomatically.

Q: What is the Durand Line?

A: A 2600 KM border that drawn by British officials in 1893 between Pakistan and Afghanistan. And no Afghan Government has ever formally acknowledged it as a permanent international border, and it divides ethnic Pashtun territories in half.