2025 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict

In the early hours of 9 October 2025, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul, Khost, Jalalabad, and Paktika, targeting the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) which it code named "Operation Khyber Storm". The group's leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, an internationally designated terrorist, was the main target of the attack in Kabul, which occurred in Abdul Haq Square. However, the TTP released an unverified audio recording, purportedly of Mehsud, in which he states that he is alive.

On the night from 11 to 12 October, the Afghan Taliban launched an attack on multiple Pakistani military posts along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border in retaliation for the Pakistani airstrikes. Following the attack, the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense announced the conclusion of their operation. However, Pakistani officials rejected the Taliban’s ceasefire declaration and continued their offensive, which was confirmed by a Taliban spokesman, noting that clashes persisted into the morning of 12 October. On the same day, reports emerged of Pakistani drone strikes in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, killing 19 Taliban fighters, though these casualties were not confirmed by Taliban officials. Both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on each other and captured or destroyed several border posts. Satellite imagery of a Taliban military compound in Spin Boldak showed that it had suffered significant damage during the clashes.

Heavy fighting resumed on 15 October, with both sides accusing the other of initiating the violence. The fiercest fighting occurred around Spin Boldak, where civilian casualties were reported. Pakistan later announced “precision” airstrikes inside Afghanistan, which Afghan locals and media said hit Kabul and military sites in Kandahar, while the Taliban attributed the Kabul explosion to an oil-tanker blast. Following a 48-hour ceasefire, which was only set by Pakistan publicly, the Pakistani military carried out airstrikes in Paktika province after the truce expired. The Taliban accused Pakistan of targeting civilians in Paktika, while Pakistan rebutted that the strikes targeted militants belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a faction of the TTP. On 19 October, Qatar announced that Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire after extensive Doha talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey. Under this ceasefire declaration, the Afghan government agreed to halt support for the TTP, while both sides pledged to refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians, or critical infrastructure. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) disclosed that 37 civilians had died and 425 others had been injured due to cross-border violence in Afghanistan.