UN Reports Over Dozen Perished in Pakistani Airstrikes on Afghanistan
The UN mission confirmed the casualties — among them women and children — were reported in Nangarhar province. In Paktika province, strikes struck a madrassa and partially destroyed a mosque and a residential structure, though no civilian deaths were immediately reported there. The mission urged both governments to halt hostilities and take all necessary steps to shield civilian lives.
Pakistani jets had struck targets in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan early Sunday, with Islamabad framing the operation as an offensive against militant hideouts. Pakistan's Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry told a local broadcaster that preliminary reports indicated at least 70 "terrorists" had been killed in the strikes.
Kabul offered a sharply different account. Enayatullah Khwarazmi, spokesman for Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, along with government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed the strikes killed and wounded dozens of women and children, with Afghan officials vowing retaliation.
The strikes reflect long-simmering tensions rooted in Pakistan's accusations that the Pakistani Taliban operates freely from Afghan soil — allegations the Taliban-led government in Kabul has consistently denied. Pakistan has endured a sharp rise in militant violence in recent years, attributed largely to the Pakistani Taliban and outlawed Baloch separatist factions.
Bilateral relations have remained strained since deadly border clashes last October. A Qatar-brokered ceasefire largely held in the aftermath, but follow-on negotiations held in Istanbul ultimately failed to yield a formal agreement — leaving both sides with no durable framework to prevent further escalation.
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