After rising tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban, Kabul was hit by intense airstrikes. So far, no country has officially claimed responsibility for the attack, but the spokesperson for Pakistan’s military has implicitly acknowledged that it was carried out by Pakistan. Sources confirmed that the strike targeted a vehicle carrying one of the leaders of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) at the Abdul Haq Square in Kabul, though details about his death remain unclear. Several citizens reacting to the incident have said that the strike marks an escalation in the proxy war among regional countries. According to them, the Taliban, who have long been accused of hosting extremist figures, are now under direct attack by their former allies. These attacks, they argue, not only violate international law but also severely threaten the territorial integrity of the country. They emphasized that by sheltering terrorists and pursuing extremist policies, the Taliban have become the main cause of foreign attacks on the country and have, in the past, paved the way for foreign military presence in Afghanistan.
Following recent tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan over the Taliban’s harboring and support of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, sources said that at around 9:50 p.m. local time on Friday night, October 10, 2025, the Pakistani military targeted a vehicle carrying Mir Wali Mehsud, a TTP leader, in the Abdul Haq Square area of Kabul. According to sources, the death of the TTP leader has not yet been officially confirmed. Audio recordings released after the strike feature him assuring his followers that he is still alive.
The attack has caused widespread concern among Kabul residents. Many reported a powerful and deadly explosion on social media, saying that the sound of Pakistan’s airstrikes was so terrifying and loud that it was heard across nearly all parts of Kabul.
Moments after the strikes, reliable sources in Kabul told the Hasht-e Subh Daily that a “Land Cruiser” vehicle in the Abdul Haq Square area had been targeted by an airstrike. According to these sources, the vehicle caught fire after the attack, and fighter jets continued to patrol the skies over Kabul for some time afterward.
Following the strike in Kabul, sources confirmed that fighter jets also targeted the Margha Bazaar area in the Barmal district of Paktika province. According to these sources, the strikes hit the marketplace and several nearby houses and shops, causing heavy financial losses.
Reactions from Former Government Officials
Dr. Rangin Dadfar Spanta, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor of Afghanistan, wrote on X in reaction to the airstrikes in Kabul: “I strongly condemn Pakistan’s attack on Kabul. Pakistan is an aggressor and has violated our national sovereignty and international law. This aggression must be condemned. Kabul is the heart of our country, and one cannot sympathize with the Taliban or their trainers in Rawalpindi.”
He further wrote: “On the eve of Mr. Muttaqi’s trip to Delhi, I said that the policies of both India and Pakistan toward Afghanistan have never aimed at peace in the region; rather, both seek proxy forces. Pakistan was a loyal supporter of the Taliban, and now India supports a significant segment of them, while our people pay the price in this war.”
Naseer Ahmad Faiq, Afghanistan’s Acting Representative to the United Nations, also strongly condemned Thursday night’s airstrikes in Kabul. On X, he described the attack as an “act of aggression and a grave violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity.”
Faiq added, “Such unlawful actions, under any pretext, are unacceptable and undermine regional peace and stability. These actions are contrary to the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law.”
Mujib Rahman Rahimi, spokesperson for the former High Council for National Reconciliation, wrote: “The Taliban, with their perpetual foolishness, bring invasions and military incursions upon the country and then blame others for it. By supporting al-Qaeda and refusing to hand over Bin Laden to the United States, they caused Western military intervention in Afghanistan. Now, by sheltering dozens of terrorist groups, they have added the dishonor of the first-ever Pakistani airstrike on the nation’s capital to their long, dark, and shameful record.”
Rahimi added, “This is only the beginning. We must expect more crises to come. One of our elders once said that Afghanistan’s foreign policy is like a bridge thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword; it requires wisdom and skill to maintain balance. The Taliban and their ideology lack such prudence. The state, government, weapons, and defenseless people have fallen into the hands of self-righteous lunatics who know nothing of the world. Therefore, no good or benefit can be expected from them, only ruin and oppression.”
Hamid Karzai, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, and several senior former government officials and political and civil figures also condemned the airstrikes on Kabul and Paktika, calling them a violation of the country’s territorial integrity.
However, some social media users, referring to the killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former al-Qaeda leader, in central Kabul, stressed that the Taliban have turned Afghanistan into a haven for international terrorists. The killing of these “terrorists,” they said, shows that the country has become a battlefield for competing regional and global powers.
Habib Khan, a media activist, wrote: “After Pakistan bombed the Afghan capital for the first time in history, the Taliban’s Defense Minister behaves like a hero in a low-budget Pashto film—issuing empty threats. He grew up in Pakistan; his father lived and died there. They will never act against GHQ.”
Taliban Reaction
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, confirmed the airstrikes in Kabul on X shortly after the attack, stating that explosions were heard across the city and that investigations had begun. He added, “Investigations are underway. So far, no reports of casualties or damage have been received. The situation is under control.”
The Taliban’s Ministry of Defense also confirmed and strongly condemned Pakistan’s airstrikes on Kabul and Paktika. In a statement published on X, the ministry said that Pakistani aircraft violated the airspace of the capital. It added that Pakistan’s fighter jets also bombed the Margha Bazaar in Paktika province. The Taliban warned that if the situation escalates, the Pakistani army will bear full responsibility.
This attack comes as Pakistan’s military has repeatedly targeted TTP bases in eastern Afghanistan, including in the provinces of Paktika, Khost, Nangarhar, and Paktia, over the past four years.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Pakistan has witnessed an unprecedented increase in attacks by its domestic insurgents. Dozens of Pakistani soldiers have been killed in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. According to Pakistani media reports, the violence intensified after TTP ended its ceasefire with the Pakistani government in 2022. Reports from the Pakistan Institute for Peace and Security Studies and the Center for Research and Security Studies indicate that in the first quarter of 2025, the level of violence in Pakistan was nearly equal to that of the entire year of 2024.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly warned that if the Taliban do not prevent TTP operations inside Afghanistan, Pakistan will target its enemies wherever they take refuge. Most recently, Pakistan’s Defense Minister warned the Taliban that by sheltering members of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups, they have exhausted Pakistan’s patience.
Pakistan labels TTP as “India-backed Kharijites” and refers to Baloch separatists as the “Indian sedition.” It also accuses the Taliban in Afghanistan of cooperating with India and fomenting unrest and instability within Pakistani territory.
Pakistan’s Latest Reaction
Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry, spokesperson for Pakistan’s military, implicitly confirmed the airstrikes in Kabul and Paktika during a press conference in Peshawar yesterday, October 10, 2025. He told reporters: “Every measure necessary for the security of the Pakistani people has been taken and will continue.”
Chaudhry did not comment on whether Noor Wali Mehsud, the TTP leader, was dead or alive.
Responding to journalists’ questions, the Pakistani military spokesperson said that the army would take any action necessary to protect the lives and property of its citizens. He emphasized that Pakistan had asked the Taliban to prevent terrorist attacks, but according to him, the group had failed to do so. Chaudhry further claimed that Afghanistan is being used as a base for terrorists against Pakistan and that Islamabad has shared evidence of this with the Taliban.
He also stated that after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, American-made weapons were seized by TTP fighters. He added: “The militants are equipped with U.S. weapons, and we have seized these arms during our operations.”
According to him, more than 3,000 attacks have taken place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the past three months.
Referring to the rise in attacks inside Pakistan, Chaudhry said that in 2024 and 2025 alone, 161 citizens of Afghanistan involved in terrorist incidents within Pakistan had been killed, along with 135 foreign fighters who were killed while crossing the Afghan border. He also stressed that in the past two years, around 30 suicide attackers in Pakistan were Afghan nationals.
Senator Irfanullah Khan wrote on X that hosting Noor Wali Mehsud, the TTP leader, in Kabul while Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was visiting Delhi was a “recipe for disaster.” He added that Pakistan should “thank the Taliban” for creating a situation that forced it to change the “rules of the game” along its western borders.
Jan Achakzai, former Information Minister of Pakistan’s Balochistan province, described the airstrike on Kabul as “historic,” saying that it sent a clear message to the Taliban to remain neutral in India’s proxy conflicts. He added that the attack demonstrated Pakistan’s capability and determination to pursue its enemies beyond its borders.
The airstrike came shortly after Amir Khan Muttaqi visited New Delhi, where he met with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar. During the meeting, India pledged to upgrade its diplomatic representation in Kabul from a “technical” level to that of a full ambassadorial mission.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
حمله به کابل؛ طالبان کشور را به میدان تصفیه حسابهای منطقهای بدل کردهاند
