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KABUL: Afghan officials said Pakistani drones struck homes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces late on Wednesday, killing three people and wounding seven, prompting the Taliban government to summon Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul on Thursday in protest.

Last year, Kabul said bombardment by Pakistani military aircraft in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province had killed at least 46 people. Islamabad has never confirmed or denied the strikes. 

In Khost’s Spera district, a southeastern border region adjacent to Pakistan’s North Waziristan, three children were killed and several others wounded when drones hit the home of Hajji Naeem Khan late on Wednesday, the province’s media chief said.

In Nangarhar’s Shinwar district, near Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan, a spokesman said four sons and two wives of a man named Shahsawar were among those injured when his house was destroyed.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry and Pakistan’s military media wing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained in recent years, with Islamabad accusing militants sheltering across the border of staging attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul denies giving safe haven.

The strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces came barely a week after Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar joined his Chinese and Afghan counterparts in Kabul for a trilateral dialogue at which the three countries pledged to step up counter-terrorism cooperation, expand trade and extend the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor to Afghanistan.

The Taliban foreign ministry said in a statement that it “strongly condemns the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace and the bombing of civilians … such irresponsible actions will inevitably have consequences.”
It said Pakistan’s ambassador, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, was handed a protest note during the meeting in Kabul.

Nizamani survived an attack on Pakistan’s embassy compound in Kabul in 2022 but has remained Islamabad’s top envoy despite repeated strains in ties.

Sharjah, UAE: Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan says his team have no “specific targets” despite producing groundbreaking performances in recent ICC global events, ahead of a T20 international tri-series starting Friday.

Rashid’s men face Pakistan in the opening game in Sharjah, with the United Arab Emirates the other side taking part in the event which serves as a warm-up for next month’s Asia Cup, also in the UAE.

Afghanistan reached the semifinals of last year’s T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean, and narrowly missed out on reaching the last four at the ODI Champions Trophy in Pakistan earlier in 2025.

Those performances followed an impressive showing at the 2023 one-day World Cup, when the Afghans produced statement wins over England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

“We do not have specific targets, and we do not want to put extra pressure on our players,” Rashid said Thursday when asked if Afghanistan are targeting the Asia Cup title.

“Our target is to play the brand of cricket we have played over the years.

“For us the main target is to put in 200 percent effort on the ground.

“I think we have been doing well in the ICC events and although we haven’t played T20I cricket over the last few months, the guys have been playing in T20 leagues around the world and that has helped.”

Afghanistan beat Pakistan 2-1 in a T20I series at the same venue in 2023.

The 16-man Afghan squad for the tri-series includes fast-rising mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar along with fellow spin bowlers Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid.

The Asia Cup gets under way on September 9, as teams ramp up their preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Contrary to Afghanistan, Pakistan’s fortunes are dipping after they crashed out of the last T20 World Cup in the group stage before failing to win a match at the Champions Trophy.

This year they lost a T20 series in Bangladesh 2-1 but overcame the West Indies by the same margin.

Under new captain Salman Agha, Pakistan are going through a transition with former skippers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan out of the T20 squad.

“We are trying to build a team and this tri-series and then the Asia Cup will be a good opportunity to achieve that,” said Agha.

“We know both these events will be challenging but we are ready.”

All three teams in the tri-series will play each other twice, with the top two to face off in a final on September 7.

Besides Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE, the Asia Cup will also include defending champions India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman and Hong Kong.