The United Nations has confirmed that Pakistani airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of at least 13 civilians, including women and children, while also injuring seven others in eastern Afghanistan, amid sharply rising cross-border tensions between the two neighboring countries.
Afghan authorities and the Taliban government have strongly condemned the attacks, asserting that they targeted civilian areas such as homes, a religious school, and residential compounds rather than militant positions, with some local reports indicating higher civilian casualties and destruction of educational facilities.
These strikes occurred overnight on February 21–22, 2026, primarily in the Behsud and Khogyani districts of Nangarhar province, as well as parts of Paktika province, because Pakistan sought to target alleged hideouts of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants blamed for recent suicide bombings and attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan’s information ministry in a post on X, said the “intelligence-based” operation struck seven camps of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and that it had “conclusive evidence” the militant assaults on Pakistan were directed by “Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers”.
The air raids in the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces killed at least “80 militants in intelligence-based air strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border targeting seven camps”, the Pakistan authorities have claimed.
On Tuesday, the Taliban’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi took the military escalation issue to the UN as he spoke with the UN under-secretary general for political affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, calling Pakistan’s accusations “baseless”.
“He expressed deep concern and noted that in the past four years, only civilians have been targeted in such repeated attacks by Pakistan. Also, no militants have ever been killed in these attacks, which the Pakistani side claims to have targeted,” the Taliban’s foreign- affairs ministry said, sharing the details of the telephonic exchange between the two.
Mr Muttaqi has assured the UN official that there are no armed groups in Afghanistan and invited all diplomatic corps to visit the site targeted by Pakistan in the latest attack.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated it had received “credible reports” confirming the civilian toll from the overnight Pakistani airstrikes, highlighting the involvement of vulnerable groups among the victims.
Pakistan’s military claimed the operations successfully eliminated at least 70 militants from TTP and affiliated groups in intelligence-based selective strikes, while denying intentional targeting of civilians and framing the action as a necessary response to escalating security threats originating from Afghan territory.
