Kamal Ghorui
Afghanistan said Sunday that “dozens” of people were killed and wounded after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in eastern border provinces, in one of the deadliest recent escalations between the two countries.Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid in a post on X said, “Last night, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, martyring and wounding dozens of people, including women and children.”Afghanistan’s Tolo News reported that the Pakistani army targeted a civilian house in Behsud district of Nangarhar province, leaving 23 members of a family buried under rubble. Only four people had been pulled out so far, the report said. The broadcaster, as quoted by ANI, also reported that the Pakistani Air Force struck a religious seminary in Bermal district of Paktika province and carried out multiple airstrikes in Khogyani district of Nangarhar.Pakistan conducted strikes in Bermal and Argun districts of Paktika, as well as in Khogyani, Bahsod and Ghani Khel districts of Nangarhar since Saturday.Islamabad confirmed the cross-border strikes, saying they targeted militant groups it blames for recent suicide attacks inside Pakistan. Pakistani media outlets also reported that the airstrikes focused on alleged militant camps along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.Geo News, citing Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, reported that seven camps and hideouts of Fitna al Khwarij (FAK), its affiliates and Daesh Khorasan Province (DKP) were hit. The ministry said the action was conducted “with precision and accuracy” in response to recent suicide attacks in Islamabad, Bajaur and Bannu during Ramzan.The strikes came days after a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a security post in Bajaur district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing 11 soldiers and a child. Authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan national. Hours before the latest border strikes, another suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in Bannu district, killing two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel.After Saturday’s violence, Pakistan’s military warned it would not “exercise any restraint” and that operations against those responsible would continue “irrespective of their location,” signaling rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.Information minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan had “conclusive evidence” that recent attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed 31 worshippers earlier this month, were carried out by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants acting on the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.”He said Pakistan had repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan, but alleged that no substantive action had been taken.In a statement, Pakistan said it expects the interim Afghan government to prevent the use of its soil against Pakistan and called on the international community to press Afghan authorities to honour commitments under the Doha Agreement.Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Foreign Office said it reserves the right to target Afghanistan to protect its citizens amid rising cross-border tensions following the Bajaur attack, according to Dawn, as cited by ANI. “Pakistan very legitimately demands that Afghan territory should not be used for terrorism inside Pakistan. So, as long as this demand is not met, whilst exercising patience, all options would obviously remain on the table,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a weekly media briefing.Relations between the two countries have remained tense since October, when deadly border clashes killed soldiers, civilians and suspected militants on both sides. The violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan.
