The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed that at least 13 people were killed and 10 others wounded in Pakistani airstrikes that hit parts of Kunar, Khost and Paktika provinces on Tuesday night.
UNAMA said women and children were among the casualties, underscoring growing concerns over the impact of the attacks on civilians. The confirmation comes amid conflicting claims from Islamabad and the Taliban administration over the nature of the targets and the number of casualties.
Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, rejected reports of civilian casualties, saying the strikes were “precise and calculated” operations that killed 26 members of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad said the operation targeted militant infrastructure used to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The Taliban, however, accused Pakistan of targeting residential areas. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 13 civilians, including 11 children, one woman and one elderly man, were killed, while 14 others were wounded. He described the strikes as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and international law.
The airstrikes mark the latest escalation in deteriorating relations between Pakistan and the Taliban authorities. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban of allowing TTP fighters to use Afghanistan territory to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan, an allegation the Taliban deny.
The incident follows months of growing border tensions between the two neighbors. In a recent report to the UN Security Council, Secretary-General António Guterres said cross-border violence and related incidents between Afghanistan and Pakistan resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties during the first months of the year.
Despite several rounds of diplomatic engagement, including recent talks in Urumqi, the two sides have yet to resolve disputes over border security and the presence of armed groups. The latest strikes are likely to further complicate efforts to ease tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
