Pakistan airstrikes kill 13 in Afghanistan, including 11 children

At least 13 civilians, including 11 children, were killed in Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan’s eastern border provinces on Tuesday night, the Taliban-run government in Kabul said on Wednesday, marking the deadliest cross-border strikes since the two countries ended hostilities in late February.

The overnight raids targeted the provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika, according to Afghan officials and local reports. Taliban authorities said the strikes hit civilian areas, killing 13 people and wounding dozens more. Afghan health workers in the affected regions reported that most of the dead were women and children, with 11 minors among the fatalities . The Afghan government summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul on Wednesday to protest the attacks, calling them a “blatant violation” of sovereignty and demanding an immediate explanation .

Pakistan has not yet issued a formal response, but military sources in Islamabad have previously justified cross-border strikes as necessary to target Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, who have claimed responsibility for attacks inside Pakistan. The TTP, an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban, has intensified its campaign against Pakistani security forces in recent months, prompting Islamabad to warn Kabul of unilateral action if Afghan soil continues to be used for militant operations .

The strikes come amid a fragile truce between Pakistan and Afghanistan, brokered in February after weeks of deadly border clashes. Since then, sporadic violence has persisted, with both sides accusing each other of harboring militants. Afghan officials said the latest raids were the most lethal since the truce took effect, raising fears of a renewed escalation .

Local residents in the targeted provinces described chaotic scenes, with families searching for survivors in rubble-strewn villages. “We heard the planes around midnight,” said a resident of Khost province who asked not to be named. “When the dust settled, we found bodies—mostly children—under the debris.” Afghan health authorities reported that at least 20 others were injured, some critically .

The international community has yet to react publicly, but diplomats in Kabul expressed concern that the strikes could undermine fragile stabilization efforts in the region. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has previously warned that civilian casualties from cross-border violence remain a “serious and persistent” issue .

As tensions rise, the Afghan Taliban government has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to address the strikes. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign ministry has remained silent, leaving regional observers to question whether the latest violence signals a breakdown of the February truce—or a dangerous new phase in the long-running conflict.