Outcry in Afghanistan due to Pakistani air strike; women and children were targeted, Taliban made serious allegations

Pakistan-Afghan Border Strike: Pakistan carried out air strikes on seven targets in Afghanistan, which it said was a step taken in response to recent suicide attacks in its country. The Pakistani Army says that the target of these attacks was Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliated organizations. Apart from this, an affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targeted in the border area.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that the attacks were carried out based on intelligence and were aimed at maintaining peace and stability in the region, while at the same time the security of Pakistani citizens remains its top priority. The Taliban government of Afghanistan has accused civilians of being targeted in the attack.

What did Pakistan say on the air strike?

Tarar claimed that Pakistan has “strong evidence” that the recent attacks were carried out at the behest of Afghanistan-based terrorist leaders and handlers. These include the suicide attack on a Shia mosque in Islamabad earlier this month, in which 31 people died. He said Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to stop terrorist groups from using Afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan, but no concrete action has been taken.

Afghanistan’s reaction

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of “once again violating Afghan territory”. Mujahid reported that civilians were bombed in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, killing and injuring dozens of people, including women and children. He said that Pakistani generals are compensating for security failures in their country through such crimes.

Tension on the border between the two countries

The attack came days after a suicide attack in Bajaur district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering the Afghan border. Eleven soldiers and a child were killed in a car bomb attack on a security post in Bajaur. Two soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in another suicide attack in Bannu district in the same period. The Pakistan Army had warned that it would “exercise no restraint” and the operation against the culprits would continue regardless of their whereabouts. These incidents clearly showed the growing tension between Islamabad and Kabul.