Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan on Thursday of carrying out air and drone strikes in two border provinces overnight that killed three children, summoning Islamabad’s ambassador to complain.Hostilities in the frontier area between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated since the Taliban seized power in 2021, with Islamabad battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western regions.Kabul “strongly condemns the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace”, a foreign ministry statement said.It accused Pakistan’s army of targeting civilians in Khost and Nangarhar provinces and called the strikes “a provocative action”.”It was clearly communicated to the Pakistan side that the protection of Afghanistan’s sovereignty is a red line for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and such irresponsible actions will surely have consequences,” the statement said. Two Pakistani security officials, contacted by AFP, denied Islamabad’s role in drone strikes inside Afghanistan. AFP has also contacted Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry for official comment.In Khost, provincial government spokesman Mustaghfar Gurbaz said “Pakistani jets bombed the house of a local” at around 10:30 pm (1800 GMT) near the border with Pakistan, which is disputed by Kabul.He said three children were killed in the strike.In Nangarhar, deputy governor Azizullah Mustafa said “a Pakistani drone fired two missiles at the house of one of our compatriots” at around 11 pm, adding that “the reason of this attack is unclear”.At least seven people were also wounded in the strikes on the two provinces, officials said.In December last year, Kabul said Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border region killed 46 civilians. Pakistani officials said the bombardment had targeted “terrorist hideouts”. There had been a recent warming of ties through trilateral meetings between the neighbouring countries and China, one of which led to Islamabad upgrading its diplomatic relations with Kabul. However, Islamabad has regularly accused the Taliban authorities of harbouring militant fighters, including from Pakistan’s homegrown Taliban group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who share a common ideology with their Afghan counterparts.Islamabad says the Taliban government in Kabul allows militants to carry out attacks on Pakistani soil with impunity and has sworn to continue strikes on Afghan territory as long as necessary.strs-sw/ecl/pbt
Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan on Thursday of carrying out air and drone strikes in two border provinces overnight that killed three children, summoning Islamabad’s ambassador to complain.Hostilities in the frontier area between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated since the Taliban seized power in 2021, with Islamabad battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western regions.Kabul “strongly condemns the violation of Afghanistan’s airspace”, a foreign ministry statement said.It accused Pakistan’s army of targeting civilians in Khost and Nangarhar provinces and called the strikes “a provocative action”.”It was clearly communicated to the Pakistan side that the protection of Afghanistan’s sovereignty is a red line for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and such irresponsible actions will surely have consequences,” the statement said. Two Pakistani security officials, contacted by AFP, denied Islamabad’s role in drone strikes inside Afghanistan. AFP has also contacted Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry for official comment.In Khost, provincial government spokesman Mustaghfar Gurbaz said “Pakistani jets bombed the house of a local” at around 10:30 pm (1800 GMT) near the border with Pakistan, which is disputed by Kabul.He said three children were killed in the strike.In Nangarhar, deputy governor Azizullah Mustafa said “a Pakistani drone fired two missiles at the house of one of our compatriots” at around 11 pm, adding that “the reason of this attack is unclear”.At least seven people were also wounded in the strikes on the two provinces, officials said.In December last year, Kabul said Pakistan air strikes in an eastern border region killed 46 civilians. Pakistani officials said the bombardment had targeted “terrorist hideouts”. There had been a recent warming of ties through trilateral meetings between the neighbouring countries and China, one of which led to Islamabad upgrading its diplomatic relations with Kabul. However, Islamabad has regularly accused the Taliban authorities of harbouring militant fighters, including from Pakistan’s homegrown Taliban group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who share a common ideology with their Afghan counterparts.Islamabad says the Taliban government in Kabul allows militants to carry out attacks on Pakistani soil with impunity and has sworn to continue strikes on Afghan territory as long as necessary.strs-sw/ecl/pbt
