In the early hours of 9 October 2025, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul, Khost, Jalalabad, and Paktika, targeting the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) which it code named "Operation Khyber Storm". The group's leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, was the main target of the attack in Kabul, which occurred in Abdul Haq Square, but survived. On the night from 11 to 12 October, the Afghan Taliban launched an attack on multiple Pakistani military posts along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border in retaliation for the Pakistani airstrikes.
Following the attack, the Taliban’s Ministry of Defense announced the conclusion of their operation. However, Pakistani officials rejected the Taliban’s ceasefire declaration and continued their offensive, which was confirmed by a Taliban spokesman, noting that clashes persisted into the morning of 12 October. On the same day, reports emerged of Pakistani drone strikes in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, killing 19 Taliban fighters, though these casualties were not confirmed by Taliban officials. Both sides claimed to have inflicted heavy losses on each other and captured or destroyed several border posts. Satellite imagery of a Taliban military compound in Spin Boldak showed that it had suffered significant damage during the clashes.
Heavy fighting resumed on 15 October, with both sides accusing the other of initiating the violence. The fiercest fighting occurred around Spin Boldak, where civilian casualties were reported. Pakistan later announced “precision” airstrikes inside Afghanistan, which Afghan locals and media said hit Kabul and military sites in Kandahar, while the Taliban attributed the Kabul explosion to an oil-tanker blast. Following a 48-hour ceasefire, which was only set by Pakistan publicly, the Pakistani military carried out airstrikes in Paktika province after the truce expired. The Taliban accused Pakistan of targeting civilians in Paktika, while Pakistan rebutted that the strikes targeted militants belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a faction of the TTP. On 19 October, Qatar announced that Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed to a ceasefire after extensive Doha talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey. Under this ceasefire declaration, the Afghan government agreed to halt support for the TTP, while both sides pledged to refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians, or critical infrastructure.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) disclosed that 37 Afghan civilians had died and 425 others had been injured due to cross-border violence in Afghanistan.
Background
Pakistan has accused the Afghan government in recent years of allowing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an offshoot of the Afghan Taliban, to use Afghan soil as a safe haven to plan and launch attacks across the border into Pakistan.
The issue has repeatedly strained diplomatic relations, with Kabul summoning Pakistani ambassadors on several occasions to protest alleged violations of Afghan sovereignty.
Cross-border operations and airstrikes inside Afghan provinces such as Paktika, Khost, Nangarhar, and Kunar have taken place in both 2024 and 2025 as Pakistan has repeatedly claimed that it has targeted anti-Pakistani militant hideouts.
Pakistani airstrikes
Pakistan referred to its targeting of TTP (Pakistani Taliban) fighters and commanders in Afghanistan as "Operation Khyber Storm", which was primarily carried out by the Pakistan Air force.
Timeline
9 October
On 9 October 2025, at around 9:50 p.m. AFT, two loud explosions were heard in Kabul, particularly in the eastern sectors near Abdul Haq Square, District 8. Explosions and gunfire were heard in other parts of Kabul, leading residents to believe that an airstrike had taken place. Witnesses described hearing the sound of aircraft overhead shortly after the blasts. Subsequent reports said that the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan/Pakistani Taliban (TTP), Noor Wali Mehsud was the target of the strike. Airstrikes were also reported to have taken place in Khost, Jalalabad, and Paktika. However, the Afghan government only confirmed airstrikes in Kabul and Paktika. A TTP official confirmed that the airstrike in Kabul killed at least two senior members of the group. Some sources claimed that TTP Emir Noor Wali Mehsud was killed in the strike; however, the TTP released an unverified voice recording purportedly from Mehsud, in which he states that he is alive. Mehsud later released a video showing that he was alive and escaped the strikes on him by the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).
Afghan journalists noted that the Afghan Taliban restricted access to the areas that had been struck by Pakistan.
11 October
On the night of 11 October, the Afghan Taliban—through the Islamic National Army led by Qari Fasihuddin—launched an attack on multiple Pakistani military posts along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Afghan officials stated that the attack was in response to the Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan. The Afghan government claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani personnel, with 9 Afghan soldiers killed. Hours after the attack, the Afghan Ministry of Defense declared that the group’s operation against Pakistan had concluded. but warned that any future violations of Afghanistan’s airspace would provoke a "decisive response." Pakistani officials, however, stated that they had rejected the unilateral ceasefire declaration by the Afghan government and continued attacking military positions in Afghanistan. This was confirmed by a Taliban spokesman, who noted that attacks on Afghan military posts continued well into the morning of 12 October. The Pakistan Army claimed to have killed 200 Afghan and TTP forces, with 23 Pakistani soldiers killed and another 29 wounded in cross-border firing. Moreover, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing for the Pakistan Armed Forces, claimed that Afghan military posts adjacent to border areas such as Kurram, Chagai, and Zhob were destroyed. The ISPR added that an Afghan Humvee was destroyed in the operation, with the Pakistani flag raised over an Afghan border post in Angoor Adda.
12 October
On 12 October, local sources in Afghanistan reported that a drone strike by Pakistan in Afghanistan's southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand killed 19 Taliban fighters, including Commander Haji Nusrat. The casualties from the drone strike were not confirmed by Afghan officials.
The same day, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan government, in a post on X stated that nine Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and 16 to 18 had been injured during attacks on Pakistan's military posts. He further claimed that the Afghan Taliban killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, injured 30, and captured 25 Pakistani military posts. However, these claims were not confirmed by the Pakistani military or independent media. Pakistani state media claimed that its armed forces had captured 21 Afghan border posts, with the Taliban fighters at the posts being either killed or escaping and some allegedly surrendering in Kurram district. The Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing for the Pakistan Armed Forces, released aerial footage of its strike on cross-border Afghan positions. BBC Verify confirmed significant damage to an Afghan security compound in Spin Boldak following a Pakistani airstrike.
The Torkham border crossing and Chaman border crossing in Balochistan were sealed by Pakistani forces, halting any trade or commerce through those routes.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed a "strong retaliation" to Afghan clashes with Pakistani forces. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that Afghanistan will receive a "befitting reply like India," referring to Pakistan's earlier conflict with India in May of that year in which despite a ceasefire,Pakistan had tried to claim a victory. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed his concerns at the clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the border. Asim Munir, Pakistan's chief of the army staff, visited the Afghan border and inspected frontline positions.
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi announced a temporary cessation of hostilities following requests from Qatar and Saudi Arabia during a press conference in New Delhi.
14 October
On the night from 14 to 15 October, an exchange of fire occurred near Kurram. According to Pakistani state sources, Afghan and TTP forces "opened unprovoked fire" and Pakistani forces responded.
15 October
In the early hours of October 15, clashes erupted between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, with both sides accusing each other of being the aggressor. According to the spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, the clashes in Spin Boldak led to at least 12 Afghan civilian deaths, with more than 100 others reported injured. However, local sources from Kandahar reported higher civilian casualties, with at least 29 killed and 122 wounded. At least 80 women and children were among the wounded according to a district hospital official. Taliban spokesperson also claimed that Afghan fighters had captured and destroyed several border posts in Spin Boldak, inflicting casualties on Pakistani security personnel, though no specific death toll was provided. Pakistani officials rejected Afghan claims, dismissing them as propaganda, and stated that they had killed 15 to 20 Taliban fighters and injured several others. Pakistani officials also reported that 6 Pakistani security personnel were killed and 4 civilians were injured during the clashes. In Kurram, Pakistani officials stated that they had destroyed eight positions—including six tanks—belonging to Afghan forces, and had killed 25 to 30 fighters from both the Afghan Taliban and the TTP in a counterattack.
On the same day, Pakistani officials announced that they had carried out a series of precision airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting several military installations. According to the officials, the strikes struck key hideouts of the Taliban and TTP, killing dozens of foreign and Afghan operatives. The airstrike in Kabul specifically targeted the headquarters and leadership of anti-Pakistan militants, according to Pakistani officials. According to Afghan media sources, Pakistan’s airstrikes in Kandahar struck the Fourth and Eighth Taliban Brigades as well as the Fifth Border Corps, reportedly killing between 15 and 20 Taliban fighters.
Pakistan released video footage of its air attacks on Afghan military positions during the conflict, including the Durrani Camp, Manojba Camp Battalion Headquarters, Manojba Camp-2, and the Ghaznali Headquarters adjacent to the Nushki district in Balochistan province. Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) confirmed Pakistani drone strikes in Spin Boldak. BBC Verify also confirmed a video of a Pakistani munition striking an Afghan military vehicle in Spin Boldak. Abdul Ghafoor Abed, a journalist for RTA, was killed and another individual was injured during crossfire in Spin Boldak. In Kandahar, locals reported airstrikes on an Afghan military base and two additional strikes on targets in the Aino Mina settlement. Afghan security personnel sealed off access to Aino Mina, preventing anyone from entering the area. Afghan state media reported that a number of civilians were killed in the Pakistani airstrikes in Kandahar.
In Kabul, a resident reported hearing four large explosions, with blasts continuing intermittently every few minutes. Several residents reported hearing the sound of fighter jets flying overhead just moments before the explosions. Residents state that the Lulu Tower, a residential building, and another building were targeted in the airstrikes. According to locals, some Taliban officials may have been living in the tower's apartments. Afghan officials dismissed any new reports airstrikes in Afghanistan and attributed the explosions to an oil tanker blast.
The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan conducted an attack on 15 October, assassinating Qari Bashir, the deputy head of the Taliban's Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice in Kunduz.
16 October
According to according to local health officials, the death toll from clashes in Spin Boldak rose to 40 on the Afghan side. At least 171 others remained injured, with several of them in critical condition. According to Afghan media, it remains unclear whether any Taliban military personnel were among the dead. However, reports from southern Afghanistan suggest that the bodies of several Taliban fighters were transferred to Spin Boldak and nearby districts. The Afghan government did not release any casualty figures.
17 October
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) disclosed that 37 civilians had died and 425 others had been injured due to cross-border violence in the past week. The provinces of Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Kunar, Kandahar, and Helmand saw the highest number of casualties.
On the same day, following the expiration of a 48-hour ceasefire, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Paktika Province. According to Taliban officials, the airstrikes targeted three locations, with one strike hitting a house and killing 10 people. The victims included local cricket players, women, and children. The International Cricket Council (ICC) expressed sorrow over the deaths of three Afghan cricketers, condemned the violence, and stood in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which announced its withdrawal from the 2025 Pakistan T20I Tri-Nation Series that was to be played throughout November in respect for the victims. An Afghan spokesman confirmed the airstrikes, claiming they targeted civilians, and said Kabul reserved the right to respond, but had instructed fighters to hold back out of respect for the negotiating team. However, according to Pakistani officials, the airstrikes targeted hideouts of the militant belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, killing dozens of armed fighters.
Ceasefire
On 19 October, Qatar announced that both the Afghan and Pakistani governments agreed to a ceasefire after extensive talks in Doha, with mediation from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. According to the agreement, the Afghan government agreed to cease support for groups that carry out attacks against Pakistan, while both sides would "refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians, or critical infrastructure."