Pakistan Resumes Airstrikes on Afghanistan as 48-Hour Ceasefire Ends

The 48-hour temporary ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan has ended.

Pakistan military airstrike site. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to foreign media reports on October 18 (local time), Afghan authorities announced that the Pakistani military conducted an airstrike in Paktika Province in southeastern Afghanistan the previous afternoon, resulting in at least 10 deaths. Local hospital officials reported that 10 civilians, including two children, were killed and 12 others were injured in the airstrike. The Afghanistan Cricket Board stated that three cricket players were among the dead and declared that Afghanistan would not participate in the cricket tournament next month, which was to include Pakistan and two other countries.

The Pakistani military stated that it carried out a precision strike operation targeting Hafiz Gul Bahadur in the Afghan border region. Hafiz Gul Bahadur is affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group.

Previously, on October 9, the Pakistani military bombed Kabul and other areas in Afghanistan, claiming to target the TTP leadership. Subsequently, on October 11, the Afghan Taliban regime attacked Pakistani forces at six border locations, resulting in fierce clashes.

The Pakistani military announced that, as a result of the clashes on October 11, 200 members of the Afghan Taliban regime and armed groups were killed, and 23 Pakistani soldiers also died. Afghan military authorities claimed that nine Afghan soldiers and 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 48-hour temporary ceasefire starting at 6 p.m. on October 15.