Swapna Kumbar , Bengaluru - Pakistan has launched airstrikes along the Afghanistan border, saying the targets were militant hideouts linked to a deadly attack in Karachi. The Taliban said dozens of civilians were killed in the strikes across eastern Afghan provinces, sharply escalating tensions between the two neighbors.

According to Pakistan’s information minister, the raids were aimed at dismantling camps belonging to Pakistani Taliban-linked groups that Islamabad blames for recent attacks inside Pakistan. Afghan officials, however, said the strikes hit civilian homes in provinces including Khost, Paktika and Nangarhar, with women and children among the dead. The Taliban described the attacks as a “humanitarian crime” and an act of aggression, while Pakistan said the operation was a direct response to militant violence.

The fresh strikes have further strained already fragile ties between Islamabad and Kabul, despite earlier ceasefire efforts and intermittent talks. According to reports said previous Pakistani airstrikes in the region had already triggered border clashes and accusations of cross-border militancy, with both sides trading blame over who is sheltering armed groups. The latest escalation now raises the risk of another prolonged cycle of retaliatory attacks along the frontier.

The airstrikes mark one of the most serious flare-ups in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations in recent months. With civilian casualties reported and no sign of a quick de-escalation, the border crisis appears to be deepening rather than easing.