Afghanistan buries civilians killed in Pakistani air raids as Islamabad claims dozens of militant deaths in a major escalation of cross-border tensions.
NANGARHAR: Afghans gathered around a mass grave on Sunday to bury villagers killed in overnight air strikes by Pakistan, which said its military operation targeted militant groups.
The attacks left at least 18 civilians dead, including children, according to Afghan officials. Pakistan claimed its strikes killed more than 80 militants, a figure an Afghan security source dismissed as “false and imaginary”.
“The house was completely destroyed. My children and family members were there. My father and my sons were there. All of them were killed,” said Nezakat, a 35-year-old farmer in Bihsud district.
Islamabad said it hit seven sites along the border targeting Afghanistan-based groups, in response to recent suicide bombings in Pakistan. A Pakistani security source told AFP the death toll was expected to rise.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the bombardment of eastern Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. He stated that “people’s homes have been destroyed, they have targeted civilians, they have committed this criminal act”.
Residents in remote Bihsud district used shovels and a digger to search for bodies under the rubble. “People here are ordinary people. The residents of this village are our relatives,” said neighbour Amin Gul Amin, 37.
Nangarhar police said the bombardment started around midnight and hit three districts. Police spokesperson Sayed Tayeeb Hammad reported that 23 members of one family were buried under rubble, with 18 killed and five wounded.
Afghanistan’s defence ministry vowed it will “deliver an appropriate and calculated response” to the Pakistani strikes. The attacks mark the most extensive escalation since border clashes in October killed more than 70 people.
The two countries have been locked in a bitter dispute since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistani military action killed 70 Afghan civilians between October and December, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan.
Islamabad said Taliban authorities have failed to act against militant groups using Afghan territory for attacks in Pakistan, which Kabul denies. The strikes followed a suicide blast at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad two weeks ago that killed at least 40 people.
The deteriorating relationship has severely impacted cross-border trade, with crucial land crossings largely shut for months. Several rounds of negotiations have failed to produce a lasting agreement between the neighbours.
The Sun Malaysia
