Pakistan strikes in Afghanistan warn Taliban, analysts say

Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan, including in Kandahar, were a warning to the Taliban government's leadership, analysts said, after Islamabad said it hit 10 targets and the Afghan government reported four civilian deaths.

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the air and drone strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate” and limited to military objectives directly linked to attempted attacks against Pakistan. Afghanistan's Taliban government said the strikes hit Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces and killed four civilians.

Kandahar is home to Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. Antonio Giustozzi, a senior research fellow at the UK-based RUSI think tank, said Pakistan was signalling its willingness to escalate and showing it could come after the Afghan leadership. The item described the Kandahar bombardment as the first confirmed Pakistani strike on the city since March.

The latest strikes followed a militant attack on a police headquarters in northern Pakistan last week that killed at least 31 people, as well as Islamabad's report of drones launched across the border.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of allowing militant sanctuaries on its soil, including groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. The Taliban government denies supporting jihadist groups responsible for attacks in Pakistan.

Farzana Shaikh, an associate fellow at Chatham House, said Islamabad believes Afghanistan is not doing enough to tackle militant groups, but said the issue is more complex than an exchange of accusations. She said the Afghan government is concerned that pressure on the TTP could push fighters toward the Islamic State group's regional branch, IS-K.

Georges Lefeuvre, a research associate at the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs, said Pakistan's operation appeared calculated as part of a continuing conflict, with no apparent intention to cause mass casualties.

China has hosted talks this year, while Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have also engaged in diplomatic efforts. Analysts said unresolved security and border disputes continue to drive the confrontation.