Pakistan launches deadly strikes on Afghanistan

At least 12 people were killed in Pakistani airstrikes on targets in Afghanistan near the countries’ shared border, Afghan officials and local sources said on Wednesday.

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that the Pakistani military had again violated Afghan airspace overnight and bombed civilian homes in the provinces of Kunar Province, Khost Province, and Paktika Province.

“As a result of these attacks, 11 children and women, as well as an elderly man, were killed,” Mujahid said.

An official in Khost province, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that an airstrike on a house in the Spera district killed nine people and wounded 10 others.

In neighboring Paktika province, two local residents said a separate attack in the Barmal district killed three civilians. One resident said the strike hit a house and that the victims were children.

Islamabad has repeatedly maintained that its strikes in Afghanistan target militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, not civilians.

The attacks were the deadliest in weeks and followed a period of relative calm along the border since fighting between the two countries erupted in late February.

A United Nations report released last month said at least 372 Afghan civilians were killed and 397 others injured in the conflict during the first three months of this year.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of harboring militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, which has waged a violent campaign against Pakistan for years.

The border between the neighboring countries has remained largely closed since violence escalated in October, freezing much of their bilateral trade.