Afghanistan slammed Pakistan for the airstrikes carried out in its Paktika, Khost, and Kunar provinces, calling it a direct assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty. Calling it a clear breach of internationally recognized norms and principles by the Pakistani authorities, the Afghan government said that it will respond at an appropriate time.
Afghanistan’s Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Tuesday that the hostile actions by Pakistan proves the “ongoing failures of Pakistan’s military regime” and emphasised that “defending its airspace, territory, and citizens is its legitimate right”.
It wrote on X, “Response to yet another violation of Afghanistan’s territory by Pakistani forces. The airstrikes carried out last night by Pakistani forces in Afghanistan’s Paktika, Khost, and Kunar provinces constitute a direct assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and a clear breach of internationally recognized norms and principles by the Pakistani authorities. These hostile actions by Pakistani forces achieve nothing; they only prove that operations driven by flawed intelligence inflame tensions and expose the ongoing failures of Pakistan’s military regime. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns this violation and act of aggression, and stresses that defending its airspace, territory, and citizens is its legitimate right. A necessary response will be taken at the proper time.
Pakistani bombing in Afghanistan on Monday night resulted in the death of nine children and one adult, Afghanistan’s Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Tuesday.
In a post on X, the spokesperson said, “Last night at around 12 o’clock in the Gorbuz district of Khost province, in the Mughalgai area, the Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident, Waliat Khan, son of Qazi Mir. As a result, nine children (five boys and four girls)”
In a subsequent post the Spokesperson said that one woman was killed, and her house was destroyed. Air strikes also occurred in Kunar and Paktika, where four civilians were injured, he said.
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the airstrikes. In a post on X he called on Pakistan to “establish relations with Afghanistan based on international principles and the foundation of good neighborliness, to act with foresight, and to refrain from repeating destructive and hostile policies”.
Former US Envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad gave a call for realistic diplomacy and shared that there are reports of a Turkish delegation to visit Islamabad and Kabul to push for an agreement between the countries so as to prevent the use of territories for threatening security.
Signficantly, he lauded the initiative and mentioned that the agreement could result in the establishment of an operation or monitoring office based in Ankara and staffed by officials from Turkiye, Qatar, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Earlier, a Pakistani diplomat met a senior Afghan governor in Jalalabad, marking the first high-level contact between the two sides in months amid rising security concerns in the region, Dawn reported. (ANI)
