Pakistan and Taliban trade deadly border strikes, dozens reported killed

Pakistan and the Taliban traded fresh border strikes Sunday, with the Taliban saying 36 civilians were killed and Pakistan saying its assault killed 32 militants. Afghan officials said more than 160 others were wounded, underscoring how quickly the fighting between the two neighbors has moved from border skirmishes toward sustained retaliation.

Pakistan said its security forces first carried out a ground operation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late Sunday, then followed with strikes on militant hideouts and safe havens. The Pakistani government said the operation was a response to multiple militant attacks across Pakistan. Afghan officials said the strikes hit civilians in eastern Afghanistan, deepening the dispute over whether the targets were armed groups or residential areas.

The latest exchange added to a monthslong cycle of violence that has intensified since October 2025, when Pakistan first carried out airstrikes in Kabul. A ceasefire agreement reached in March 2026 has not ended the violence, and sporadic attacks have continued despite internationally mediated efforts to keep the border quiet. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government of sheltering Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

The new casualties followed earlier Pakistani airstrikes on June 9 and June 10 in eastern Afghanistan that Afghan officials said killed at least 13 civilians, among them children. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan confirmed civilian casualties from those strikes and called for de-escalation, a ceasefire, protection of civilians and dialogue. Human rights groups and Afghan officials have repeatedly warned that the cross-border campaign risks violating sovereignty while putting civilians in the line of fire.

The competing casualty counts remain impossible to reconcile from the battlefield claims alone. Pakistan said its assault killed 32 militants, while Reuters separately reported that Pakistan put the militant toll at 29 in the border operation. The Taliban, meanwhile, described the latest airstrikes as killing civilians, not fighters, leaving the broader picture dependent on whether independent monitors can verify who was struck and where.