KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov 25, (AP): Afghanistan’s Taleban government on Tuesday accused Pakistan of launching overnight airstrikes in three eastern provinces, killing 10 civilians, including nine children, in a sign of worsening tensions between the two neighbors. Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesperson for the Afghan government, said on X that Pakistan "bombed” the home of a civilian in Khost province, killing nine children and a woman.

He said additional strikes were carried out in the provinces of Kunar and Paktika, injuring four others. Mujahid described the attacks as "atrocities,” and said the strikes were "a violation of Afghan territory.” Afghanistan, he added in his post on X, "considers the use of its airspace and territory and defense of its people to be its legitimate right, and at the appropriate time, it will give the necessary response.”

Pakistan’s military and government did not immediately comment on the allegation, which comes more than a month after cross-border clashes erupted when the Afghan government claimed Pakistani drone strikes hit Kabul. However, the ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey between the two sides in October was still holding Tuesday despite the alleged overnight strikes by Pakistan deep inside Afghanistan.

There was no immediate comment from Qatar and Turkey. Iran in recent weeks has also offered to play a role in defusing tensions 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 Taleban, or Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan. It is a separate group but closely allied with the Afghan Taleban, 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.