Afghanistan strikes targets in Pakistan, raising cross-border tension

The strikes are the latest threat to the fragile ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan.Afghanistan has launched air strikes on what it called hideouts used by armed groups and “hostile intelligence circles” inside Pakistan, Kabul has announced.The strikes, reported on Friday by Afghanistan’s defence ministry, were launched the previous day. The incident is the latest threat to the fragile ceasefire between the neighbours.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Can Pakistan push the US-Iran deal over the finish line?list 2 of 4How Pakistan mediated a US-Iran agreement after more than 100 days of warlist 3 of 4Zidane Iqbal: The footballer who gave Pakistan its first World Cup momentlist 4 of 4Pakistan signs US-Iran MoUend of listHostilities have broken out several times over recent months, killing hundreds of people, and mediators led by China have so far failed to secure an agreement for a settled peace.The hideouts, located in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, both of which share a border with Afghanistan, were targeted by the “air force” on Thursday night, Afghanistan’s defence ministry said in a social media post.The ministry said that the “bases” had been “allegedly used in cooperation with certain hostile intelligence circles to plan and organise attacks against Afghanistan,” presumably referring to Pakistani intelligence.Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Pakistan has regularly accused Kabul of harbouring armed groups that launch attacks across their shared border, and has carried out numerous air strikes it says are aimed at such forces. Afghanistan has refuted all accusations.Kabul did not specify how the attack – the first major ‌offensive action claimed by Kabul in months – was carried out.Afghanistan has no fighter jets but is known to possess at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.