KABUL – The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes across three eastern provinces late Monday night. Officials report that the attacks resulted in the deaths of 10 civilians, including nine children, highlighting escalating tensions between the neighboring countries.

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid announced on social media platform X that Pakistan targeted a civilian residence in Khost province, resulting in the tragic deaths. Further strikes in the Kunar and Paktika provinces reportedly left four individuals injured.

Mujahid condemned these actions as “atrocities” and labeled them a breach of Afghan sovereignty. He asserted that Afghanistan reserves the right to defend its airspace, territory, and citizens, promising an appropriate response at a suitable time.

As of now, Pakistani military and governmental bodies have not responded to these accusations. The claims come on the heels of recent cross-border tensions, following Afghan allegations of Pakistani drone activities over Kabul.

Despite these alleged incursions, the ceasefire arranged by Qatar and Turkey in October remains intact. Both nations have yet to comment on the latest developments.

Amidst these tensions, Iran has recently expressed willingness to mediate and help ease the strained relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tuesday on X that he met with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, a day after arriving on a previously scheduled visit. Dar’s office was also expected to release a statement about the meeting.

The latest escalation follows a deadly attack a day earlier in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar, where two suicide bombers and a gunman stormed the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary. Three officers were killed, and 11 others were wounded in the Monday morning attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the Peshawar attack, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

It is a separate group but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, and many of its leaders are believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. Kabul in 2022 brokered a brief ceasefire between the TTP and Pakistan. However, the militant group ended the truce after accusing Pakistan of violating it.

Pakistan has intensified intelligence-based operations against militants in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, the military said security forces killed 22 militants during a raid on what it described as a hideout of “Indian-backed” fighters in Bannu, a district in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border.

In a statement, the army referred to the killed insurgents as Khawarij, a term the government and the military use for militants they allege are supported by Afghanistan and India. Kabul and New Delhi deny providing any support to such groups.

The statement said Pakistan “will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country.”

Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to prevent TTP militants from using Afghan territory to launch attacks. Kabul denies the accusation, but relations further deteriorated after Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for the Oct. 9 drone strikes on its capital and threatened retaliation.

The clashes that followed killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and militants before the sides agreed to the Oct. 19 ceasefire.

Two subsequent rounds of talks in Istanbul failed to resolve the dispute, when Pakistan said Afghanistan had refused to provide a written guarantee that TTP fighters would not operate from Afghan soil.

The Afghan government insists it does not allow anyone to use its soil for attacks against any country, including Pakistan.

The lingering tensions have stalled bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with all border crossings between the two neighbors remaining shut since last month. It has also affected movement of people, as residents from both sides have been unable to travel to meet with relatives and friends since early October.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.