Taliban Claims That ‘Reckless’ Airstrikes Upon Eastern Afghanistan Killed Eight Civilians

The Taliban said that Pakistan had killed eight people on Monday, all of them women and children, in “reckless” airstrikes carried out by the Pakistani army near the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, early on Monday morning, Pakistani aircraft “bombed civilian homes” in the districts of Khost and Paktika.

The government of the Taliban vehemently denounces these assaults and denounces this thoughtless move as an infringement on Afghanistan’s sovereignty. The Taliban claimed in a statement that “such incidents can have very bad consequences, which will be out of  Pakistan’s control.”

Following the Taliban government’s takeover of power in 2021, tensions between the two neighboring nations increased. Notwithstanding the fact that Pakistan and the Taliban had a cordial and robust connection because of the latter’s backing of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),. Pakistan now accuses its neighbor on a daily basis of providing sanctuary to terrorist organizations that endanger its security.

It gave the news agency AFP the identical justification for the airstrikes, stating that they were carried out in reaction to Afghan troops “targeting Pakistani territory.”

The source was reported by news agency AFP as stating, “As clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue on and off at the border, announcements have been made in mosques to empty some areas in Kurram and North Waziristan.”

The attacks follow the assassination of seven Pakistani soldiers on Saturday in an incident that occurred within Pakistani territory, for which President Asif Ali Zardari promised revenge.

While attending the soldiers’ funeral prayers, which included a lieutenant colonel, he said, “Pakistan has decided that whoever will enter our borders, homes, or country and commit terror, we will respond to them strongly, regardless of who it is or from which country.”

RISING MILITANCY MOVEMENT
Terrorist organizations, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates across the porous border with Afghanistan, have long used the areas around the border as a stronghold.

According to analysts, since the Taliban retook control, terrorists in the erstwhile tribal regions have gained confidence, and the TTP is intensifying its assault against security personnel.

The Taliban say they do not support terrorists from Pakistan.

Taliban officials said that in 2022, attacks by Pakistani military helicopters near the Afghan border killed at least 47 civilians.

In an official statement, the TTP denied that the attacks on Monday were directed at the organization, claiming that its members are based in Pakistan.

Nonetheless, a TTP insider said that at least nine people died as a result of the attacks in Paktika and Khost, speaking to AFP on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

In the Barmal area of Paktika, “a house has been attacked where two women and seven children have been killed and a child has been wounded.”

“There are also casualties from a bombardment in the Pasa Mela area of Khost.”