ISLAMABAD: The interim Afghan Taliban govt claimed on Wednesday that 46 people, mostly women and children, were killed in airstrikes by Pakistani fighter jets on civilians in eastern Afghanistan late Tuesday night.
Pakistani security officials said the airstrikes took place in Murgha and Laman areas of Barmal district, in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province near Pakistan’s volatile South Waziristan tribal district, on alleged camps of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). This has been the fourth time in the past few years that Pakistan has conducted airstrikes inside Afghanistan, and the second time since March 2024.
“Last night (Tuesday), Pakistan bombarded four points in Barmal district of Paktika province. The total number of dead is 46, most of whom were children and women,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban govt. He added that six others, mostly children, were wounded.
Condemning the airstrikes, the Afghan defence ministry called them “barbaric” and a clear “aggression”. It stated that several refugees, including women and children, were killed and injured. “The Pakistani side should understand that such arbitrary measures are not a solution to any problem,” Enayatullah Khowarazami, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s defence ministry, wrote on social media platform ‘X’. “The Islamic Emirate (Afghan Taliban regime) will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, but rather considers the defence of its territory and sovereignty to be its inalienable right,” he added.
The strikes took place hours after Pakistan special representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq met interim Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani in Kabul, intending to resume diplomatic dialogue after a year-long gap. The deteriorating ties, however, are likely to worsen following Tuesday night’s airstrikes, analysts said.
Pakistan alleges the Afghan government harbours armed groups, particularly the TTP, which conducts cross-border assaults against Pakistani security forces. In one of the worst recent assaults on security forces, the TTP had claimed responsibility for the killing of at least 16 Pakistani soldiers in South Waziristan last week.
Kabul, however, denies providing shelter to armed groups or allowing their territory to be used for cross-border attacks.
Border tensions between the two countries have surged since the Taliban regime took control in 2021, with Pakistan experiencing a revival of militant activity along its western border. Deadly air attacks by Pakistan’s military in Afghan border regions in March, which the Taliban claimed killed eight civilians, had sparked confrontations along the the disputed border between the two countries.