ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Friday avoided directly confirming reports of Pakistani strikes in Kabul, instead describing the country’s actions as legitimate self-defence against militants operating from Afghan territory.
At the weekly briefing, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said Pakistan “reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the security and well-being of its people,” while stressing that all security operations are “intelligence-driven” and target terrorist groups such as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “Pakistan respects the sovereignty of Afghanistan and remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering dialogue and cooperation with our neighbour to address the shared challenges of terrorism,” Khan said.
The comments came after twin explosions rocked Kabul late Thursday, with Afghan media reporting fighter jet overflights and describing the incident as precision air strikes targeting a compound linked to the TTP, allegedly associated with TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud.
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Conflicting reports emerged over Mehsud’s fate—some pro-Pakistan accounts claimed the strike was a major blow to the TTP, while TTP-linked channels released an audio message purportedly from Mehsud denying his death and calling the reports “enemy propaganda.” If confirmed, analysts say, it would mark the first reported Pakistani strike in the Afghan capital, signaling a serious escalation since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused militants based in Afghanistan of launching cross-border attacks, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying in parliament: “Enough is enough — Pakistan’s government and armed forces’ patience has worn out.”
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Meanwhile, military spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in a separate briefing in Peshawar, neither confirmed nor denied the Kabul strikes but underscored Pakistan’s “right and resolve to defend itself.” “Afghanistan is being used as a base for terrorism in Pakistan. There is evidence of this,” he stated. Afghan authorities, however, condemned the alleged attack, claiming Pakistan “violated Afghan airspace and bombed civilian areas” near Paktika and Kabul.
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The FO also refrained from commenting on a new agreement between India and Afghanistan to reopen their embassies. The understanding, reached during a meeting between Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi, marks India’s first high-level engagement with the Taliban since 2021.
“Our position is that Afghanistan’s relations with any country are a matter between those two sovereign states,” said FO spokesperson Khan. “However, Pakistan has consistently urged that Afghan soil should not be used against Pakistan.”