Pakistani Airstrikes Hit Kabul Amid Escalating Afghanistan–Pakistan Tensions

Kabul - Afghanistan’s capital Kabul came under Pakistani airstrikes at around 5:40 a.m. local time on Sunday, triggering multiple explosions and prompting Afghan air defence forces to open fire at aerial targets.

The wave of airstrikes reportedly lasted for about 20 minutes.

The attack comes amid escalating military tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which have witnessed several exchanges of fire in recent days, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Earlier, Afghan government deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said that three Afghan returnees were killed and seven others injured after Pakistani forces struck a temporary camp for returnees in Kandahar province on Saturday. He said the camp was bombarded at around 8:30 a.m. local time, as stated in a post on his social media account.

In a related development, an Afghan official claimed that a pilotless aircraft allegedly sent by Pakistan to strike Afghan territory crashed in Khost province on Saturday.

Fitrat further stated that since last Sunday, at least 52 people have been killed and 66 others injured in Pakistani airstrikes across Afghanistan. The casualties were reported from the eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Paktika, Khost and Kunar, as well as southern Kandahar.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials claimed that Afghan forces shot down a Pakistani fighter jet in eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday. The aircraft reportedly crashed in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

According to Nangarhar provincial police chief Mohibullah Hamas, the pilot ejected by parachute and was captured alive. Nangarhar police spokesman Sayed Tayeb Hemad later confirmed that the pilot is currently in police custody.

With inputs from IANS