Afghan forces launched “air strikes” on ⁠hideouts of Islamist militants in two provinces of Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban’s Defence Ministry said on Friday (June 19, 2026), sparking new tension between the neighbours months ‌after they engaged in their worst conflict in years.

The hideouts in Pakistan’s Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, both of ‌which share a border with Afghanistan, were targeted by the “air ‌force” ⁠on Thursday night (June 18, 2026), the Ministry said in a post ⁠on X. It did not specify how the attack — Kabul’s first major offensive action in months — was carried out.

Afghanistan has no fighter jets, but is known ​to possess at least six ‌aircraft and 23 helicopters, according to data from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. The Taliban forces are also known to have drones that have been used in fighting with ‌Pakistan.

“These bases, allegedly used in cooperation with certain hostile intelligence ​circles to plan and organise attacks against Afghanistan, had previously served as staging grounds for several deadly attacks,” ⁠it said.

“According to preliminary information, the operation successfully hit its key pre-designated targets,” it added, without giving details about casualties.

Pakistan’s Military and Information ‌Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The conflict between allies-turned-foes Pakistan and Afghanistan has killed hundreds of people this year, with efforts to ease tensions, mediated by China, yielding no results so far.

Islamabad has blamed Kabul for harbouring militants that it says plot attacks in Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban denies ‌the allegations and says militancy is Pakistan’s internal problem. Pakistan launched air strikes ​on Afghan provinces last week, which the Afghan Taliban said killed at least 13 people, including 11 children, and ⁠injured 14.

Islamabad said the “calibrated strikes” killed 26 militants and were a response ⁠to a recent spate of attacks in the country’s northwest.

“Afghanistan will no longer tolerate any threat to its security ‌and stability. It will use all available means and capabilities to neutralize and eliminate any threat at its source,” the Afghan ​Taliban Defence Ministry said.

Pakistan’s security forces killed 145 militants over ‍40 hours after coordinated attacks across Balochistan, the chief minister of ​the southwestern province said on Sunday (February 1, 2026), as the authorities ‌battle one of the deadliest flare-ups in years.

The ​attacks underscore the persistence of insurgents in the resource-rich province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where separatist militant groups have stepped up assaults on security forces, civilians and infrastructure.

The death toll includes militants killed in raids on Friday (January 30, 2026) and Saturday (January 31, 2026), as well as additional militants killed during ongoing clearance operations, the ​Chief Minister of Balochistan, Sarfaraz Bugti, told a press ⁠conference in Quetta.

The military had said 92 militants were killed on Saturday (January 31, 2026).

The latest total is the highest number of militants killed in such a ​short span since the ⁠insurgency intensified, Mr. Bugti said, without providing comparative figures.

He also said 17 law enforcement personnel and 31 civilians were killed in the attacks.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, has faced ‌a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking ‌greater autonomy and a larger share of its natural resources.

The banned separatist group Baloch Liberation Army ‍claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it had launched a coordinated operation dubbed Herof, or “black storm”, targeting security forces across the province.

Pakistan’s ‍military said on Saturday (January 31, 2026) the attacks were carried out by “Indian-sponsored militants”. India, Pakistan’s neighbouring arch rival, denied that assertion on Sunday, accusing Islamabad of deflecting attention from its own internal problems.

“We categorically reject the baseless allegations made by Pakistan,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, adding that Islamabad should instead address “long-standing demands of its people in the region”.

The ⁠violence erupted across several districts simultaneously, including Quetta, Gwadar, Mastung and Noshki, prompting large-scale operations by the army, ​police and counterterrorism units. Hospitals were placed on emergency footing in some ⁠areas.

The military said security forces had repelled attempts by militants to seize control of any city or strategic installation.

Pakistan has faced periodic attacks by Islamist militants elsewhere in the country, including factions linked to the Pakistani Taliban.