Afghanistan launched air strikes inside Pakistan on Thursday night, targeting locations in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. This action follows Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan earlier in June 2026, which targeted cities including Kabul. The exchange of fire comes after a ceasefire was brokered in Doha on 18–19 October 2025 by Qatar and Turkey, after which mediators agreed to follow-up talks in Istanbul on 25 October. However, mediators led by China have failed to secure a settled peace agreement between the two nations.

Officials from both sides provided conflicting justifications for the military actions. Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stated that the strikes inside Afghanistan targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, whom he claimed were hosted on Afghan soil. Conversely, Afghanistan's Defence Ministry stated that the targeted bases in Pakistan were allegedly used by ISIL-Khorasan (ISIS-K) in cooperation with hostile intelligence circles.

Hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan have broken out several times over recent months, killing hundreds of people. Fighting along the border intensified over the past month following the end of a short Eid ceasefire in March. Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad rose after a Pakistani airstrike killed over a dozen people in Afghan border areas. In response to the aggression, Afghan President Karzai stated that Afghans 'will respond to courage.'

International actors have called for restraint. Russia urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to halt fighting, and UN officials called for de-escalation amid the border clashes. Saudi and Pakistani ministers also discussed regional tensions. The fresh strikes come after weeks of relative calm in the restive border region between the two countries.