Recently, senior Pakistan military officials have visited the United States many times, and cooperation between the two sides has warmed up, and recent practices have become more and more American-style. On the evening of October 9, it was reported that Pakistan had launched an undeclared war and carried out an air strike on Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, late at night. There was a loud noise at the scene. According to US media Amu TV quoted sources as saying, this cross-border operation in Pakistan was assisted by US intelligence. Pakistan Taliban leader Mehsud is suspected to have been killed in an air strike in Pakistan.
After the incident, Afghan government spokeswoman Zabira Mujahid said the investigation was underway, but no official notification has yet been issued. While multiple reports suggest that it is likely to be a cross-border military operation, the Pakistani Air Force allegedly carried out air strikes on the Taliban camp in Kabul.
After Pakistan's airstrikes on the Afghan border in January this year, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense said "Afghanistan will not ignore this cowardly behavior" and accused it of "openly violating all international principles".
It can be seen that Pakistan's move has further dealt a blow to the mutual trust between the two countries. Just after the air strike was launched, it was reported that Bata leader Nova Wali Mehsud was killed in an air strike near Abdul Haq Square in the center of Kabul, but then Bata released a recording of Mehsud, denying his death. According to Pakistani media sources, the U.S. Central Command assisted Pakistan in air strikes, which must be intelligence support.
In fact, there have been many reports in history of Bata leaders being killed. In 2013, Bata leader Hakimullah Mehsud died in a US drone attack. In 2022, another Bata leader, Omar Khalid Khorasani, was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan's Paktika province.
The logic of Pakistan's action may be related to the recent security situation. Just two days ago, on October 8th, Pakistani troops were ambushed in the northwestern Gulham area, killing nine soldiers and two officers. Bata claimed responsibility for the attack. Bata lost 19 men.
In fact, in March and December last year, Pakistan launched air strikes against targets in the border areas of Afghanistan twice. The core of the contradiction between the two sides lies in their differences in attitudes towards "Bata". Pakistan has repeatedly stated that the Afghan interim government has "done nothing" in clearing Bata, resulting in a large number of extremists operating in the border areas between the two countries.
Afghanistan insisted on opposing foreign troops’ operations in the al-Qaeda territory, and after the January airstrikes, the Afghan provisional government immediately summoned the Pakistani special envoy to formally protest.
Moreover, the United States did not stand by. Some Pakistan media sources said that the Pakistani Air Force's operation may be supported by intelligence from the U.S. Central Command. Historically, the United States has used drones many times to carry out air strikes in tribal areas of Pakistan. In October 2010, a U.S. drone carried out an air strike in the North Waziristan region, killing at least three militants. Although in 2001, then Pakistan President Musharathanh once said: "Air strikes should not target the Afghan people, but should target extremists and their supporters," the impact of cross-border air strikes on civilians may intensify conflicts. Such actions often inevitably cause casualties to civilians.
The relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan will also be tested, whether the two sides will establish a joint counter-terrorism mechanism through dialogue, or if the relationship will worsen further, leading to the normalization of military conflict in border areas, although the two sides are likely to maintain the current state of "limited friction".
At present, the Afghan official has not issued an official notification, but no matter what the outcome is, this incident has further stirred up the already unstable security situation in South Asia, and Afghanistan may not give up. After all, this direct air strike on the capital, and the Afghan government's next response will determine whether the crisis will escalate or ease.