Category: International

Pakistan has released video clips of air and drone strikes on militant hideouts in Afghanistan. The clips are reported to show the operation in which Pakistan says terrorist targets were hit.

Pakistan had earlier announced that it carried out airstrikes in two Afghan provinces targeting terrorists’ hideouts. According to the Ministry of Information, initial reports indicated that 22 militants were killed, and the ministry claimed maximum precautions were taken to prevent civilian casualties.

Kabul, on the other hand, says Pakistani airstrikes killed nine people, including women and children. Afghan authorities reported civilian deaths in Kunar and Helmand provinces. The casualty figures could not be independently verified.

President’s spokesman Murtaza Solangi warned the Taliban administration in a statement on social media, saying there would be consequences if it continued to provide what he described as “safe sanctuaries, training and logistical support” to terrorist groups. He referred to the Kabul administration as a “surrogate mother of terror”.

Pakistan maintains that Afghan soil is being used for attacks inside Pakistan and has repeatedly called on the Taliban authorities to act against these groups. The Kabul administration has rejected the allegations.

Regional observers warn that the escalation of rhetoric on both sides risks further increasing border tensions.

The Foreign Office has said Pakistan is taking steps to bring home the mortal remains of three Pakistani sailors who were killed during the operation to recover the hijacked tanker MT Honour 25 off the Somali coast. Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan confirmed the development at his weekly briefing.

Puntland’s Maritime Police Force recovered the Palau-flagged tanker on Tuesday in a planned operation in the Dharin Baar area of Bandar Beyla district. The tanker had been hijacked on April 21 with 19 crew members aboard, including 10 Pakistanis. During the incident, pirates killed five crew members and wounded four, three of them Pakistani.

The three Pakistanis killed were identified as Rafiullah Khan, Syed Kashif Umar and Mahmood Ahmed Ansari. The Ansar Burney Welfare Trust said all three were from Karachi. The other two sailors killed were from India and Myanmar.

Accounts of the deaths differ. Puntland authorities say the sailors were killed before the operation began, while the Ansar Burney Trust, citing surviving crew members, says pirates opened fire on the hostages during an exchange of gunfire in the rescue operation. The two accounts have not been independently reconciled.

According to the Foreign Office, the surviving crew were first brought ashore at Bandar Beyla and have now been moved to the city of Garove, where the injured are receiving treatment. Khan said Pakistan’s embassy team in Djibouti was proceeding to Bandar Beyla to assist the Pakistani nationals, and that “every possible effort” was being made for the injured sailors’ medical care, the return of the mortal remains and the safe return of the surviving crew.

Puntland authorities said 16 suspected pirates were detained in the operation. The crew had spent more than five months in captivity, according to the welfare trust.

Pakistan said on Thursday that it is playing a role in facilitating communication between Iran and the United States, urging both sides to exercise restraint and resolve outstanding issues through dialogue and diplomacy. Foreign Office spokesperson Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan made the remarks at his weekly press briefing.

Khan said Islamabad had encouraged, and would continue to encourage, Iran and the US to honour their respective commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. “Pakistan believes this is the only viable pathway to resolving the conflict amicably and peacefully in the larger interest of global peace and security,” he told reporters.

He added that Pakistan’s role as a mediator in communication between Iran and the US made it important for Islamabad to keep encouraging both sides toward a peaceful resolution.

Pakistan and Qatar have previously participated in mediation efforts under the Islamabad MoU framework. Islamabad has in the past cited its facilitation of the 1970s US-China rapprochement as a precedent for its quiet diplomatic role.

The remarks come amid rising tensions in the Middle East, with reports of growing US economic pressure and military preparations directed at Iran.

Pakistan has strongly condemned the attack by the Houthi militia on the Taibah power distribution station in Madinah on 29 September 2026. In a statement issued on Friday, the Foreign Office said the attack on civilian infrastructure supplying electricity to the Prophet’s Mosque was “a grave provocation and a matter of deep concern and anguish for millions of Muslims worldwide”.

Foreign Office spokesperson Ambassador Sajjad Haider Khan said the sanctity of the Two Holy Mosques and the safety of worshippers and pilgrims must be respected under all circumstances.

Pakistan called for “an immediate and unconditional end” of such reckless actions, warning they constitute a grave threat to regional peace and security. Islamabad reaffirmed its unwavering solidarity with Saudi Arabia, expressing full support for the Kingdom’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and security.

According to coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Malki, the drone attack targeted the Taibah station at 5:11 am on September 29. The coalition said evidence, including the wreckage of the drone used, confirmed Houthi involvement — a claim the Houthi side has denied through its media.

Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkiye and Kuwait also condemned the attack, expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia, and called for an immediate end to hostilities.