Taliban Summon Pakistani Diplomat in Protest Over Airstrikes in Paktika
Pakistani airstrikes targeting Afghanistan’s Paktika province, Dec. 25, 2024. X/ @RehberTvHaber
December 25, 2024 Hour: 12:00 pm
Afghan authorities say the attack impacted civilians and refugees, resulting in 46 deaths and six injuries.
On Wednesday, the Taliban government in Afghanistan summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul to express its protest over an airstrike carried out the previous night by the Pakistani military in the province of Paktika.
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According to a security official in Islamabad, the bombing targeted several camps belonging to the main Pakistani Taliban group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Taliban claimed that the attack impacted civilians and refugees, resulting in 46 deaths and six injuries.
The Afghan Foreign Affairs Ministry told the Pakistani diplomat that these actions “are considered highly irresponsible” and that they “will inevitably have repercussions.” It also noted that the violation of Afghan airspace took place while representatives of the Pakistani government were in Kabul engaging in talks with Afghan officials.
This bombing was described by the Taliban authorities as “a deliberate attempt by certain circles in Pakistan to undermine trust and create friction in relations between the two nations.”
The bombing occurred just hours after Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, met with senior Afghan officials, including Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani. The Pakistani government, which has not yet commented on the airstrike, believes that the TTP uses Afghan territory to prepare attacks against Pakistani security forces.
The two countries experienced a similar incident in March when Pakistan conducted two airstrikes inside Afghanistan, in the border provinces of Khost and Paktika, targeting what it also claimed were insurgent camps. However, as in this case, the Taliban asserted that Pakistani aircraft “bombed civilian homes,” causing eight deaths. In retaliation, the Afghan Defense Ministry reported having bombed Pakistani military positions along the disputed border using “heavy weaponry.”
Border tensions between the two countries have increased since the Taliban government took power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan accuses the Taliban of harboring insurgent groups in Afghanistan to launch attacks on its territory, allegations the Taliban have repeatedly denied.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
