Kabul: The Pakistani Air Force targeted a religious seminary in an attack on Bermal district in Afghanistan’s Paktika province. The Pakistani jets also conducted multiple airstrikes at the Khogyani district of Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Pakistan has also conducted multiple strikes in Bermal and Argun in Paktika, as well as in Khogyani, Bahsod and Ghani Khel districts in Nangarhar, since February 21, Saturday. The Pakistani strikes has led to the death of 17 Afghan civilians.
#BREAKING: 17 Afghan civilians killed as Pakistan Air Force (PAF) conducts airstrikes targets civilian residential areas in Afghanistan’s Ghani Khelo and Garda Samia (Behsud) districts.pic.twitter.com/bDHbOQnVzs
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 21, 2026
Pakistani media sources also confirmed Islamabad’s airstrikes; they reported that the strikes were focused on the alleged terrorist camps along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. As per the sources, the strikes targeted seven camps and hideouts of Fitna al Khwarij(FAK), its affiliates and Daesh Khorasan Province (DKP), claiming the action was conducted “with precision and accuracy” in response to recent suicide attacks in Islamabad, Bajaur and Bannu during Ramzan.
The ministry alleged that the suicide bombings were carried out at the direction of Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers, adding that responsibility was claimed by elements linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh. Despite Islamabad’s relentless effort to mask its misdeeds and repeated claim that it urged the Afghan Taliban to prevent the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups, Pakistan itself has long faced international scrutiny for providing safe havens and logistical support to various terror outfits operating across the region.
In its statement, Pakistan said it expects the interim Afghan government to fulfil its obligations and prevent the use of its soil against Pakistan. It also called on the international community to press Afghan authorities to honour commitments under the Doha Agreement. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said Pakistan reserves the right to target Afghanistan to protect the lives of its citizens amid a spike in cross-border tensions following a deadly attack in Bajaur. “Pakistan very legitimately demands that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorism inside Pakistan. So, as long as this demand is not met, whilst exercising patience, all options would obviously remain on the table”, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi had exclaimed.
Afghanistan vows to avenge for the breach of its sovereignty
Reacting to the Pakistani airstrikes targeting the innocent civilians of Afghanistan, Kabul asserted that strikes by Islamabad across the border under the veil of countering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP) terror group, is a clear violaion of Afghan sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law. The spokesperson of the Talibal-led government in Afghanistan reiterated that Pakistani strikes indiscriminately targeted the religious seminary and several residential buildings in the border area leading to the death and injury of several innocent civilians, including the women and the children.
Afghan Media: Pakistani forces targeted a religious madrassa during airstrikes on Barmal district of Paktika. Pak forces carried out airstrikes in Barmal & Urgun districts of Paktika as well as Khogyani, Behsud and Ghani Khel districts of Nangarhar. pic.twitter.com/f6Dsrujeap
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) February 21, 2026
Afghanistan thus vowed to react against Pakistan with “appropriate and calculated” measure as it was a matter of protecting the nation’s sovereignty and the safety of its citizens. It is a question of religious and national duty, Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defence further added. The Defence Ministry of Afghanistan also exclaimed that repeated attacks by Islamabad on Afghanistan would not conceal and is not a solution to the escalating internal crisis in Pakistan.
The escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan across the border depicts a fragile security landscape that is costing the lives of innocent civilians includin women and children. On the other hand, Pakistan is entangled in multifront security crisis with India on the one side and Afghanistan on the other end, thus struggling to mask its misadventures and terror motives. Islamabad being a firm soil to nurture terrorists and terrorism being a state-sponsored policy of Pakistan, conduting cross border operations, to veil its misdeeds and illicit motives, is the biggest irony of geopolitics.
(With Inputs from ANI)
