• Military storage facilities, border post among installations destroyed in air strikes, says minister
• Four of a family die after mortar shell fired by Afghan forces lands on home in Bajaur
• FO blasts Indian statement on Afghanistan clashes as ‘absurd, shamefully hypocritical’
• World Food Programme starts delivering aid to families displaced by conflict

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan continued to strike “terrorist hideouts and military infrastructure” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar, as military operations against the Afghan Taliban over their purported support for cross-border terrorism continued for a third consecutive week.

Attacks on the border also claimed the lives of four brothers, who were killed after a mortar shell fired by Afghan forces struck a home in Litai, a hilly area in Salarzai tehsil of Bajaur district, on Sunday afternoon. One person was also wounded.

Sharing details about the clashes, state-run PTV reported that overnight strikes by the army “targeted facilities used by the Afghan Taliban and affiliated terrorist groups to support attacks against Pakistani civilians”.

A video shared by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on X appeared to show two facilities being targeted in Kandahar. The 80-second-long video claimed that the locations shown included a technical equipment store in Kandahar, a tunnel used to store technical equipment in the same area, and the Badani post in Chitral being targeted.

The information minister stressed that the footage showed “precision engagement by Pakistan on those installations and terrorist camps”.

“In these attacks, Pakistan’s forces also destroyed technical support infrastructure and equipment storage facility, in Kandahar, that was being used by Afghan Taliban and terrorists against innocent Pakistani civilians,” he added.

Providing an updated tally of the losses inflicted, Mr Tarar claimed that 684 Afghan Taliban personnel had been killed so far and more than 912 injured.

He added that 252 posts were destroyed and another 44 captured and destroyed. A total of 229 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed, the minister added.

Mr Tarar further stated, “73 terrorists and terrorist support infrastructure locations across Afghanistan [have been] effectively targeted by air”.

“No civilian population or infrastructure was targeted as falsely propagated by Afghan regime officials and media,” he asserted.

Four killed in Bajaur

However, four civilians died in the Afghan forces’ cross-border attack. The deceased were said to be brothers, all aged under 30, while the wounded man was moved to the hospital for treatment. The information minister confirmed the incident and said that the Taliban “deliberately targeted the civilian population”.

“Four innocent civilians have embraced shahadat (martyrdom) while one five-year-old child is seriously injured as a house was hit in this attack,” he added.

Separately, district police spokesperson Israr Khan told Dawn that residents of adjacent villages had rushed to the scene soon after the incident and recovered the deceased and the injured from the debris.

FO blasts India

Separately, the Foreign Office (FO) rejected a statement made by the Indian Ministry of Ext­ernal Affairs criticising Paki­s­t­an’s cross-border action in Afgh­anistan, stating that the statement was “absurd, unwarranted” and “shamefully hypocritical”.

A day earlier, the Indian MEA’s spokesperson Shri Randhir Jaisal claimed that Pakistan’s strikes in Afghanistan had led to “death of several civilians”, terming it an “act of aggression”.

In response, the FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the remarks against Pakistan’s “legitimate, targeted and precise actions against terrorist hideouts and support bases inside Afghanistan are not only absurd and unwarranted but also shamefully hypocritical”.

The spokesperson maintained that India’s “active support and sponsorship” for terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil remained “well-known”.

Under the above circumsta­nces, he held that India’s “frustration at the destruction of its terrorist franchise in Afg­h­a­nistan, as reflected in such statements, is quite understandable”.

“India has not only played the role of a spoiler in Afghanistan, but also in the entire region,” the FO added.

Emergency aid to Afghans

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) said it started delivering “life-saving food” to over 20,000 Afghan families displaced by the conflict with Pakistan, warning “further instability will push millions into hunger”, AFP reported.

Families who fled their homes will initially receive fortified biscuits to address “urgent” hunger, with the ready-to-eat rations intended to support people forced to flee and with limited access to cooking facilities.

In the coming weeks, the most vulnerable households will receive additional assistance, including two months’ worth of food or cash support, the UN agency said.

“Afghanistan is caught between two conflicts, and any further instability will push millions deeper into hunger while adding strain to a region already on the brink,” stressed John Aylieff, WFP country director in Afghanistan.

Anwarullah Khan in Bajaur contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2026