ISLAMABAD: Pakistan carried out air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan used to launch and store drones targeting its territory, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Thursday, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries.

The strikes came after Pakistan said its air defense systems intercepted drones launched from Afghan territory on Wednesday before they could reach their intended targets, and days after a deadly militant attack on a police compound in the northwestern city of Kohat killed 23 people, including 17 police officers, with eight attackers also killed in a subsequent security operation.

Islamabad has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering militants who launch cross-border attacks on Pakistan. Kabul denies the accusations.

“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defense, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” Tarar said in a statement posted on X.

“The strikes were deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan.”

Tarar described the drone incursions into Pakistan as a “blatant violation” of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, accusing Afghanistan’s Taliban government of escalating tensions through hostile operations.

Pakistani security sources said on Wednesday that eight drones had entered the country’s airspace from Afghanistan, with four intercepted near the Torkham border and another four in mountainous areas near Kohat.

Tarar did not specify the locations of the 10 sites targeted by Pakistan or report any casualties from the operation.

A resident of the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, home to Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, told AFP an airstrike hit the city overnight, saying they heard a jet and then a large explosion before seeing a fire in the city center.

Afghan officials also reported Pakistani strikes in the eastern provinces of Paktia and Khost. Mohammad Rasool Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Paktia governor, told AFP jets had bombed the Afghan army’s 203rd Mansouri Corps, while a Khost official said strikes there had caused no casualties.

The latest confrontation comes amid rapidly deteriorating relations between the two neighbors over the militant violence, which has become a major source of friction between Islamabad and Kabul.

Tarar said Pakistan had repeatedly conveyed its concerns to the Afghan Taliban “regarding the continued presence of terrorist sanctuaries and their support networks on Afghan soil.”

“Instead of dismantling these networks and taking credible and verifiable action against those using Afghan territory to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime has chosen to escalate the situation through hostile drone operations against Pakistan,” he added.

Pakistan also carried out airstrikes on three targets in eastern Afghanistan earlier this week, saying 28 militants and suicide bombers were killed. Afghan authorities said at least three civilians lost their lives and four were wounded, while the UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian deaths.

Last week, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned that Afghanistan would defend itself against any Pakistani military action inside its territory, saying Kabul had the right to respond to violations of its sovereignty.

Pakistan on Thursday warned it would respond to any additional attacks from Afghanistan.

“Pakistan does not seek escalation and remains committed to regional peace, dialogue and constructive engagement,” Tarar said. “This commitment must not be mistaken for weakness or an unlimited tolerance of hostile actions.”

He called on the Taliban government to “immediately cease all hostile activity against Pakistan” and take what he described as effective, verifiable and sustained action against militant groups operating from Afghan territory.

“Pakistan will neither accept nor tolerate attacks launched from Afghan territory, whether by terrorist groups or by the Afghan Taliban regime itself,” Tarar said.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been involved in sporadic cross-border fighting since October last year.

The two countries agreed to a ceasefire in March, but mediation efforts by regional countries have failed to produce a lasting settlement, with the presence of anti-Pakistan militants in Afghanistan remaining a central point of contention.

With input from AFP.