OMM Redaksiyası
Pakistan said on Thursday that it had carried out airstrikes on 10 sites in Afghanistan. Islamabad said the locations were being used to store and launch unmanned aerial vehicles.
Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation followed the detection of drones allegedly launched from Afghanistan a day earlier. Pakistan said its air defense systems tracked and neutralized the aircraft before they reached their targets.
Targets of the strikes
Tarar said the subsequent airstrikes were limited to identified military facilities linked to attempted drone attacks. The minister warned that any further “provocative step” by Afghanistan’s Taliban government would receive a strong response from Islamabad.
Afghan officials, meanwhile, said four civilians had been killed in the attacks. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said the strikes hit areas in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces, adding that Kabul would respond. The Taliban government also denied launching drones against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Reasons for the tensions
The latest escalation came amid a series of clashes and mutual accusations along the border between the two countries. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of allowing Islamist militant groups operating from Afghan territory to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
The Taliban government rejects the accusation and says combating armed groups is Pakistan’s internal problem.
Earlier this week, Pakistan said it had carried out airstrikes near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, killing 28 militants. Afghan officials said three civilians were killed in those attacks.
Previous clashes
The latest confrontation followed an attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan last week. At least 24 people were killed in the incident, and fighting resumed after a period of relative calm lasting about three months.
Relations between the two countries have also deteriorated because of previous cross-border strikes. According to the Taliban government, more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul in March. Kabul said the strike hit a drug addiction treatment center.
Islamabad rejected the accusation, saying the targets were military facilities and infrastructure supporting terrorists.
