Peshawar/Kabul: The leader of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Noor Wali Mehsud, was reportedly killed in a drone strike in Kabul late Thursday, in what Afghan officials allege was a Pakistani operation — a development that has further strained already tense relations between the two neighbors.
According to security sources cited by RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal, two senior TTP commanders were killed when precision strikes hit a compound in the Afghan capital. While reports suggest Mehsud was the primary target, conflicting claims emerged overnight about his fate.
A TTP source told reporters that Mehsud survived the attack, though two “important members” of the group were killed. Afghan officials have not confirmed his death but accused Pakistan of “violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty.”
Kabul Condemns ‘Unprecedented Act’
The Taliban-led Afghan government strongly condemned the attack. “This is an unprecedented, violent, and provocative act in the history of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” said a statement from the Afghan Defence Ministry, warning that “if the situation escalates further, the consequences will be the responsibility of the Pakistani military.”
Hours after the Kabul strike, residents in Paktika province, along the Pakistan border, reported additional explosions targeting a small market and shops. No casualties were confirmed.
Pakistan Keeps Strategic Silence
At a press briefing in Peshawar on Friday, Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, neither confirmed nor denied Islamabad’s involvement in the Kabul operation.
“To safeguard Pakistani lives and properties, whatever measures need to be taken will be taken,” he said, stressing that Afghanistan was being used as a base of operations for terrorism against Pakistan.
When pressed by journalists, Gen Chaudhry said:
“We have historical, cultural and religious ties with Afghanistan. Our only demand is simple and fair — do not allow your soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan.”
Afghanistan is being used for terrorism, and necessary actions for Pakistan's security have been taken in the past and will continue to be taken in the future.
The suspected drone strikes came just two days after the TTP killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, including two senior officers, in an assault in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tirah Valley. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the group, a charge Kabul denies.
Taliban Urge Restraint
Speaking to Indian journalists during a landmark visit to New Delhi, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called on Pakistan to avoid escalation. “Pakistan should not repeat this mistake,” he said. “Our issues can be solved through negotiation, not war.”
Global Concern
Former U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad described the Kabul strikes as a “huge escalation,” warning that direct confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan “will increase death and destruction in both countries.”
Analysts say the episode marks one of the most serious security incidents since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. “Pakistan seems to have lost patience,” said Mansoor Mehsud of the FATA Research Center. “This will make the situation more volatile and unpredictable.”
