Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Pakistan’s former envoy Asif Durrani warned that broader military attacks could follow if Kabul compels Islamabad to escalate operations.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s former special representative for Afghanistan, said airstrikes targeting alleged hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State militants were a “clear and calculated message” to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities. He said the operations were meant to push Kabul to act against armed groups operating near the border.
Speaking on Sunday, Febraury 22, Durrani warned that if the Taliban “force Islamabad,” Pakistan could carry out broader and deeper strikes inside Afghanistan territory. He stressed that militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan’s border regions were no longer tolerable and that the latest strikes should encourage the Taliban to behave “responsibly.”
The remarks followed overnight air operations reportedly conducted by Pakistani aircraft in the eastern provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika. Local sources said at least 18 members of one family were killed in the Behsood district of Nangarhar, although casualty figures could not be independently verified.
In response, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul to formally protest the strikes. In a statement, the ministry condemned what it described as violations of Afghanistan airspace and civilian areas, calling the attacks a “clear violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity.”
The ministry warned that safeguarding Afghanistan’s sovereignty was its responsibility and said the consequences of such actions would fall on the other side. Taliban officials described the airstrikes as provocative and said continued incursions could further destabilize relations between the two neighbors.
Separately, the Taliban’s Defense Ministry cautioned that it would respond to the attacks “at an appropriate time,” raising concerns of possible retaliation. Pakistani authorities have not immediately issued detailed public comments on the reported civilian toll.
Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad have intensified in recent months amid mutual accusations over cross-border militancy. Pakistan says armed groups launch attacks from Afghanistan soil, while the Taliban deny allowing any group to use Afghanistan to threaten neighboring countries, deepening an already fragile diplomatic standoff.