•  Islamabad says Afghan military operations met with 'immediate and effective' response

KARACHI, Pakistan

Afghanistan said on Thursday that it launched retaliatory strikes against Pakistan, targeting military centers and installations along the border.

“‎In response to the continued aggressions of Pakistan’s military regime, extensive retaliatory offensive operations have commenced against Pakistani military centres and installations along the Durand Line,” Afghan government deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said on US social media company X.

The strikes are being launched from the provinces of Khost, Paktia, and Nuristan, according to the Afghan Defense Ministry.

Pakistan confirmed that Kabul had launched military operations, dubbing it as "unprovoked action," which were met with an "immediate and effective" response.

Fighting is ongoing at Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, and Bajaur sectors, with early reports indicating “heavy casualties on the Afghan side with multiple posts and equipment destroyed,” Pakistan's Information Ministry said in a statement.

Afghan government deputy spokesman Fitrat, in a separate post on X, said, "extensive laser equipped units deployed along the Durand Line have also commenced operations and, making use of the cover of night."

He also claimed casualties on the Pakistan side.

​​​​​​​Anadolu could not independently confirm reports of casualties on both sides of the border.

Earlier on Thursday, Pakistan denied that any civilians were killed in Sunday's strikes on Afghanistan and only “terrorist” hideouts were targeted.

“We exercised utmost caution to prevent any harm to civilians,” Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said about Sunday airstrikes.

The latest border clashes come after Pakistan said it carried out airstrikes last week in Afghanistan, killing 70 “terrorists.”

Afghan officials said civilians were killed and vowed retaliation.

Responding to a question on Qatar's possible role in defusing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, spokesman Andrabi said during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's visit to Doha early this week, “regional issues were discussed, including possibly Afghanistan.”

“This is what I can confirm at this stage,” he told reporters on Thursday.

Pakistan has experienced a surge in terrorist incidents in recent months, much of it attributed to the Pakistani Taliban and banned Baloch separatist groups.

Islamabad accuses the Pakistani Taliban of operating from Afghanistan, a charge the Taliban-led government in Kabul has repeatedly denied.