Pakistani security forces killed several Afghan Taliban fighters after they allegedly attempted to enter Pakistan and opened hostilities along the border in Balochistan province, State-run media reported on Friday (September 25, 2026).

The development comes after Pakistan conducted aerial and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan on Thursday (September 24, 2026).

Afghanistan’s Taliban government said the strikes killed four civilians.

The State-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), citing security sources, said Afghan Taliban fighters attempted to enter Pakistani territory in Balochistan’s Gulistan sector on Thursday (September 24, 2026) and carry out an “act of aggression”.

Pakistani forces retaliated, killing several Afghan Taliban fighters, the report said, adding that intermittent exchanges of fire continued after midnight.

However, the claims about the casualties and the circumstances leading to the latest border clash could not be independently verified.

There was no immediate detailed statement from the Afghan Taliban on the Gulistan clash.

Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes on Thursday (September 24, 2026) were carried out after drones entered Pakistan from Afghan territory on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).

“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defence, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” Mr. Tarar said.

He said the strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate” and “strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan”.

Mr. Tarar described the alleged drone incursion as a “blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and a “grave and unacceptable act of aggression”.

Pakistan on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) said its forces had shot down eight drones — four near the Torkham border and four near Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Afghanistan denied involvement in the drone attacks and strongly condemned the Pakistani strikes.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a social media post on Thursday (September 24, 2026), said four Afghan civilians were killed in the strikes.

He said Kabul would respond with a “firm stance and an appropriate response” and warned that such actions would have “dire consequences” for the Pakistani military.

The latest escalation follows Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan on September 21, which Islamabad said targeted camps and hideouts of militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Pakistan’s Information Ministry said 28 militants, including several suicide bombers, were killed in the strikes. Afghan authorities disputed the account, saying at least three civilians were killed and four others wounded in villages in Afghan territory.

The Taliban government condemned the Pakistani action and summoned Islamabad’s charge d’affaires in protest.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration in Kabul of allowing the TTP and allied militant groups to use Afghan territory to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

The Afghan Taliban has rejected Pakistan’s allegations that it allows its territory to be used for attacks against neighbouring countries.

Pakistan says its latest military actions are part of its ongoing counter-terrorism campaign, “Ghazab lil Haq”, launched in February.

Pakistan has conducted precision aerial and drone strikes on ten locations across Afghanistan in response to recent attempted drone attacks from the neighbouring country a day earlier, Information Minister Atauallah Tarar said on Thursday (September 24, 2026).

Mr. Tarar said that the strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated, and proportionate, and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan”.

The development comes a day after Pakistan shot down eight drones after they entered the country’s airspace from Afghanistan, security sources said.

“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defence, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” Mr. Tarar said in a statement.

The Minister warned that Pakistan will neither accept nor tolerate attacks launched from Afghan territory, whether by terrorist groups or by the Afghan Taliban regime itself, and any violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty will be met with an immediate and decisive response.

“Threats, denials or attempts to deflect responsibility by Afghan Taliban will neither alter the facts nor constrain Pakistan’s inherent right to defend its territory, its people, and its national security,” he said.

He also said that Pakistan condemns in the strongest possible terms the deliberate and unlawful incursion into Pakistan by drones on September 23, launched from Afghan territory, which “constitutes a blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and is a grave and unacceptable act of aggression”.

The Minister said that Pakistan for years has repeatedly conveyed its grave concerns to the Afghan Taliban regime and its interlocutors regarding the continued presence of terrorist sanctuaries and their support networks on Afghan soil.

“Instead of dismantling these networks and taking credible and verifiable action against those using Afghan territory to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime has chosen to escalate the situation through hostile drone operations against Pakistan,” he said.

He also said that Pakistan’s Air Defence systems detected, tracked, and neutralised all intruding platforms before they could reach any of their intended targets, comprehensively thwarting the attempted attack.

Pakistan calls upon the Afghan Taliban regime to immediately cease all hostile activity against Pakistan and fulfil its international obligations by taking effective, concrete, verifiable, and sustained action against terrorist entities operating from Afghan soil, the statement by the Minister read.

“Afghan territory must not be used to launch attacks or conduct hostile operations against Pakistan,” according to the statement.

Mr. Tarar said Pakistan does not seek escalation and remains committed to regional peace, dialogue, and constructive engagement but added that this commitment must not be mistaken for weakness or an unlimited tolerance of hostile actions.

“Pakistan will defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the lives of its citizens with full resolve and will take all necessary measures to protect them. Any further provocative act by Afghan Taliban will be responded with firm and resolute response,” he said.

Relations between Afghan Taliban and Pakistan have deteriorated due to allegations by Pakistan that Kabul is not taking action against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan terrorists who allegedly use the Afghan territory to train and attack Pakistan.

The airstrikes came after a major attack in the old Police Lines in KP’s Kohat claimed 23 lives and injured about 100 others. Eight terrorists were killed during an overnight clearance operation launched to clear the area.