Pakistan bombed a fuel depot belonging to a private Afghan airline near Kandahar airport, the Afghan Taliban said on Friday, marking a sharp escalation in the worst fighting in years between the neighbouring countries.
The depot belonged to Kam Air and supplied fuel to civilian aircraft as well as planes operated by the United Nations, according to Taliban officials.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the strike was part of a broader wave of Pakistani attacks across Afghanistan that included bombings in several areas, including the capital Kabul.
He said women and children were among those killed in strikes that allegedly hit civilian homes, warning that the attacks would “not go unanswered.”
Pakistan says militants targeted
Pakistani security sources offered a different account of the operation.
According to the sources, the Pakistani military carried out overnight strikes on four militant hideouts in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia province.
One of the targets included an oil storage facility at the Kandahar airfield that Pakistan said was linked to militant activity.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of allowing militant groups to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The Taliban leadership has repeatedly denied the accusation, arguing that militancy within Pakistan is an internal issue for Islamabad.
Afghan retaliation
Afghanistan’s defence ministry said it had launched drone strikes in response to the Pakistani attacks.
According to the ministry, Afghan forces targeted a Pakistani military base in the city of Kohat, claiming the attack caused heavy damage.
Neither Pakistan’s military nor its information ministry immediately responded to requests for official comment on the reported escalation.
Rising tensions despite mediation
The fighting between the two countries began last month after Pakistan carried out air strikes inside Afghanistan that it said were aimed at militant strongholds.
The Taliban government condemned those strikes as violations of Afghan sovereignty and responded with cross border attacks.
Although clashes along the roughly 2,600 kilometre frontier had recently slowed, the Kandahar bombing suggests tensions remain high.
Diplomatic efforts have been underway to calm the situation. China has stepped up mediation efforts between the two sides, urging both governments to de escalate the conflict.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said earlier this week that Islamabad and Beijing were engaged in a dialogue process regarding Afghanistan.
Analysis
The reported strike on a civilian aviation fuel facility marks a potentially dangerous turning point in the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
While Pakistan says it is targeting militant hideouts, attacks on infrastructure linked to civilian aviation risk widening the confrontation and drawing international attention.
The retaliation claimed by Afghan forces suggests the conflict is evolving into a cycle of cross border strikes that could destabilise the already fragile security situation along the frontier.
China’s mediation efforts highlight the regional stakes involved. Beijing has strong economic and security interests in stability across South and Central Asia, particularly as it expands infrastructure and trade projects in the region.
If the current escalation continues, however, diplomatic efforts may struggle to contain tensions between two neighbours whose relationship has long been shaped by mutual suspicion over militant activity and border security.
With information from Reuters.
