By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi February 26, 2026 Several explosions have rocked Kabul just hours after Afghanistan and Pakistan traded strikes on each other in their volatile mountain border region as days of escalating tensions boiled over with both sides claiming to have killed dozens of militants and security forces. Local sources told RFE/RL’s
8am: Recent Pakistani airstrikes in parts of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces have once again raised a fundamental question: when a state conducts operations across the border under the banner of “counterterrorism,” yet the result is the killing of women and children and the destruction of civilian homes, how should this situation be assessed under international
Amu: Clashes have broken out between Taliban forces and Pakistani troops in several border districts of eastern Nangarhar province, local sources said. Residents said fighting occurred in the districts of Torkham, Nazyan and Achin, areas along the frontier with Pakistan. The exchanges in Nazyan and Achin involved both light and heavy weapons, the sources said.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty February 22, 2026 Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said they are preparing “an appropriate and calculated response” to Pakistani air strikes that killed at least 18 people in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. Afghan officials said “dozens of people” were injured in the overnight attacks on February 22, “including women and children.” Pakistan said
Amu: Pakistan carried out airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday night, targeting what it described as militant camps near the border, as local sources reported strikes in several districts of Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. In a statement dated Feb. 21, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the strikes were a “retributive response” to a string of recent
Afghanistan International: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has again urged the Taliban to rein in militant groups operating from Afghan territory, warning that Islamabad would not hesitate to carry out further airstrikes inside Afghanistan if no action is taken. Speaking to France 24, Asif alleged that attacks inside Pakistan are carried out with Taliban support.
Amu: Speaking during a session of Pakistan’s National Assembly on Monday, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Pakistan’s participation in wars linked to Afghanistan, beginning during the Cold War and continuing after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, was a strategic choice made to secure international support, particularly from the United States. “We did not enter
Amu: Pakistan’s defense minister Khwaja Asif has said that militants behind deadly attacks in the country’s Balochistan province were acting as proxies for the Taliban, warning that Islamabad would hold those backing them to account. Asif said fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were being used by both India and the Taliban to destabilise
Afghanistan International: Sher Ali Hamad made the comments at a funeral in Guldara district for a man identified as Ayoub, also known as Zakir. In his speech, Hamad described the political systems of Central Asian states and Pakistan as “parliamentary and infidel,” and called for the overthrow of those governments to establish Islamic rule. He
Amu: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that Islamabad has “complete evidence” of close ties between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA) and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “There is a close relationship between the TTP and the TTA. You say there is no link, but we have complete evidence,” Sharif told a meeting of religious