Pakistani strikes Afghan border areas, dozens of civilians killed

Islamabad/Kabul: Several Afghan civilians were killed and many others injured after Pakistan carried out airstrikes targeting civilian areas along the volatile border between the two countries.

Kabul alleged that residential locations were hit in the operation.

Islamabad maintained that the strikes were aimed at Afghan-based “terrorist groups” that it holds responsible for a string of recent suicide attacks inside Pakistan.

According to the Afghan government, “dozens of people” were killed or wounded in the bombardment.

“Last night, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, martyring and wounding dozens of people, including women and children,” Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on X.

Confirming the operation, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X, “Pakistan has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates in the border region.”

Tarar further stated that the action also targeted an alleged affiliate of the Islamic State group, which had claimed responsibility for the recent mosque attack in Islamabad that left 31 people dead and more than 160 injured.

The incident was among the deadliest assaults in the Pakistani capital since the 2008 Marriott hotel bombing.

In a separate statement, the Pakistani Army said that despite repeated efforts to urge the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable steps to prevent Afghan territory from being used by terrorist groups and foreign proxies to launch attacks inside Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban regime “failed to undertake any substantive action against them”.

“Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, but at the same time, the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority. In this backdrop, Pakistan, in a retributive response, has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven Terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to the Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP at the border region of Pakistan-Afghan border with precision and accuracy,” the statement added.

Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated since the Taliban regained control of Kabul in 2021.

Bilateral ties have deteriorated sharply in recent months amid deadly border clashes and repeated accusations from Islamabad that Afghan soil is being used to shelter militants targeting Pakistan.

The Taliban government in Kabul, however, has consistently rejected these allegations, denying that it allows its territory to be used for cross-border attacks.

IANS