Taliban warns Pakistan of “very bad consequences” after airstrikes hit Afghanistan

The Taliban government’s spokesperson alleged that eight people — all women and children — were killed on Monday in “reckless” airstrikes by the Pakistani military in the border regions of Afghanistan.

Since the Taliban regime took office in 2021, tensions along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have increased. Islamabad claims militant organizations are regularly attacking from the neighboring nation.

According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, Pakistani aircraft “bombed civilian homes” in the provinces of Khost and Paktika, which are close to the Pakistani border, at around three in the morning (2230 GMT Sunday).

The spokeswoman for the Taliban administration claimed that eight people—all women and children—were killed on Monday in “reckless” bombings carried out by the Pakistani military in Afghanistan’s border districts.

Tensions along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Islamabad asserts that terrorist groups frequently launch attacks from the adjacent country.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claims that at around three in the morning (2230 GMT Sunday), Pakistani aircraft “bombed civilian homes” in the provinces of Khost and Paktika, which are near the Pakistani border.

“Announcements have been made in mosques to empty some areas in Kurram and North Waziristan as clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue on and off at the border,” he stated.

The strikes follow the assassination of seven Pakistani troops on Saturday in an attack that occurred inside Pakistan, for which President Asif Ali Zardari promised revenge.

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While attending the soldiers’ funeral prayers, which included a lieutenant colonel, he declared, “Pakistan has decided that whoever will enter our borders, homes, or country and commit terror, we will respond to them strongly, regardless of who it is or from which country.”

For a considerable amount of time, areas bordering Afghanistan have served as a base for extremist organizations like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an Afghan Taliban faction that operates across Pakistan’s porous frontier.

According to analysts, since the Taliban retook power, terrorists in the erstwhile tribal areas have grown more confident, and the TTP is intensifying its campaign against security personnel.

The Taliban say they do not support militants from Pakistan.

Taliban officials said that in 2022, strikes by Pakistani military helicopters along the Afghan border killed at least forty-seven civilians.

In an official statement, the TTP denied that the strikes on Monday were directed at the group, claiming that its members are based in Pakistan.

Nonetheless, a TTP insider said that at least nine people died as a result of the strikes in Paktika and Khost, told the media on the condition of anonymity.

In the Barmal district of Paktika, “a house was bombed in which two women and seven children were killed and a child has been wounded.”

“An airstrike bombardment in the Pasa Mela area of Khost province also caused casualties.”