According to the Taliban, the Pakistani army repeatedly attacks in the border areas of Afghanistan.
Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan killed 46 people and injured six others. Most of the victims are women and children, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban movement said on Wednesday, vowing retaliation for Pakistan’s strikes. An unnamed Pakistani source told AFP that the attacks targeted terrorist hideouts, writes TASR.
“Last night, Pakistan bombed the Barmal district of Paktika province,” near the shared border with Afghanistan, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.
The Pakistanis claim that they also killed the Taliban
In a statement from Tuesday evening, the Afghan Ministry of Defense condemned the “barbaric” Pakistani airstrikes on the territory of Afghanistan. According to him, it was a “clear aggression”. Pakistan and its army have not yet commented on this.
An official of Pakistan’s security services told AFP that the strikes were carried out on “terrorist hideouts” using aircraft and drones. He claims that at least 20 militants of the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik Taliban Pakistan, TTP) were killed in them.
“The arguments of Afghan officials who say that civilians are being harmed are baseless and misleading,” the source said.
Repeated attacks
According to the Taliban, the Pakistani army attacked in the border areas of Afghanistan in March as well. At that time, according to the movement, eight civilians were killed, which caused skirmishes on the border.
Tensions on the border between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban took power in 2021. According to AFP, Pakistan is trying to combat a resurgence of militant violence in border areas in the west of the country.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban-led Afghan government of harboring TTP fighters and allowing them to attack Pakistani territory with impunity. Kabul denies the allegations.
