Deadliest-Ever Fighting Between Pakistan & Afghanistan Sees Drone Strikes On Kabul

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been exchanging their deadliest fire in years, and border clashes are now threatening to enter the Taliban-ruled Afghan capital of Kabul.

A tense, temporary ceasefire has been reached but only after Pakistan launched apparent drone strikes on Kabul, as well as the border province of Paktika, where fighting has raged. Eastern Afghanistan has also seen airstrikes by Pakistani Air Force jets.

“Explosions were also heard in Kabul, according to city residents who spoke to Radio Azadi. Unverified footage on social media appeared to show plumes of smoke rising into the sky in the Afghan capital,” observes US stated-funded RadioFreeEurope/Radio Liberty. 

The fierce fighting stretches back to the weekend, which saw Taliban fighters and Pakistani security forces at several key border crossings, leaving dozens done, in what’s being described as the deadliest-ever fighting between the two sides, with many dozens killed and hundreds wounded.

“Many people on both sides of the border have vacated their houses and fled the area for safer locations fearing that the fighting may expand,” said one eyewitness of border clashes, which saw Pakistani helicopters firing down on settlements on the Afghan side.

Pakistan has owned up to the attacks inside Afghanistan, saying they were necessary for counter-terror operations:

Islamabad has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks. But during a press briefing Friday, Lt. Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a Pakistani military official, said there is “evidence” that “Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations for carrying out terrorism in Pakistan.”

Pakistan has long accused Kabul of harboring the militant group the Pakistani Taliban (known as the TTP), which Afghanistan’s Taliban denies. Pakistan has faced a surge in Islamist violence since the Taliban swept Kabul in 2021, emboldening militant groups.

This led to in some instances the Taliban retaliating against Pakistani positions along the some 2,600km border.

The Taliban does not have a real air force to speak of, nor does it have anti-air defenses, allowing Pakistani drones, jets, and helicopters to attack from the skies with impunity…

🚨🇦🇫🇵🇰KABUL ON FIRE – PAKISTANI AIRSTRIKES BATTER THE CAPITAL

Kabul is burning.

Pakistani warplanes have rained bombs on the city, turning streets into smoldering ruins, rupturing lives, and shifting the war’s gravity.

In Islamabad, this was billed as a cross-border strike on… https://t.co/72s5cpUmeW pic.twitter.com/79aWabeIpk

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 15, 2025

The two sides have reportedly agreed to 48-hour ceasefire, which Pakistani officials said took effect from 13:00 GMT on Wednesday.

Richard Bennett, UN special rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, wrote on X that he was “deeply concerned” by reports of mounting civilian deaths and displacement. “I urge all parties to exercise maximum restraint, protect civilians, and abide by international law,” he said.