Pakistan-Afghan Conflict Escalates Amid Drone Attacks

Pakistan-Afghan Conflict Escalates Amid Drone Attacks

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Smoke rises on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing near Pakistan on February 28 [Maaz Awan/AP Photo]

By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and The Associated Press 14 Mar 2026

Pakistan has carried out strikes on an Afghan military facility in Kandahar after Taliban drones targeted civilian areas and military installations across the country.

The strikes on Saturday came after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the overnight drone attacks, warning Kabul it had 'crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians'.

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of air attacks on homes in Kabul, Kandahar. The UN mission in Afghanistan says at least 75 civilians have been killed and 193 injured since hostilities intensified on February 26, a toll that includes 24 children. About 115,000 people have been forced from their homes.

Pakistani military said the drones were intercepted before reaching their targets, though falling debris wounded two children in Quetta and civilians in Kohat and Rawalpindi. A security source told the AFP news agency that airspace around the capital, Islamabad, had been temporarily closed when the drones were detected.

Islamabad said the Kandahar facility had been used both to launch the drone attacks and as a base for cross-border rebel activity. The exchange marks the sharpest single escalation yet in a conflict that has been building since late February.

Is an off-ramp in sight? Iran’s president sets terms to end the war. The wider region remains engulfed by the US-Israeli war with Iran, which began just two days after the Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes escalated.

Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi has urged both sides to pursue dialogue, warning that further force would only deepen the crisis, though his appeal came as Pakistani jets were already in the air over Kandahar.

For more information, please visit Al Jazeera or follow their updates on the latest developments in the region.