Kabul: Pakistan’s military carried out fresh airstrikes on parts of Afghanistan on Thursday, with four civilians reportedly killed, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.
According to Mujahid, the strikes targeted Afghanistan’s Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces. The Taliban administration condemned the attacks and accused Pakistan of violating Afghan territory.
The casualty figure and other details of the strikes were reported by the Taliban and could not be independently verified.
Taliban Condemns Pakistan Airstrikes
Zabihullah Mujahid described the strikes as “indiscriminate” attacks and accused Pakistan of aggression against Afghanistan.
In a post on X, Mujahid said the Afghan authorities would respond to what he called Pakistani military aggression. He also referred to claims from Pakistani military circles that drones had crossed into Pakistani territory from Afghanistan.
Mujahid alleged that the latest airstrikes were carried out in an attempt to justify Pakistan’s actions and warned that continued attacks could have consequences for relations between the two countries.
Hamid Karzai Criticises Pakistan’s Actions
Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai also criticised the latest Pakistani airstrikes on Kandahar, Khost and Paktia.
Karzai said Islamabad should abandon what he described as a policy of aggression and called on Pakistan to pursue good-neighbourly relations with Afghanistan.
He also said Afghans remained united against what he described as attacks on Afghan territory.
Fresh Strikes Follow Earlier Pakistan-Afghanistan Tensions
The latest reported airstrikes come days after Pakistan carried out strikes on Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces on September 21. According to the Taliban, those attacks killed three people.
Mujahid had condemned the September 21 strikes and warned that Afghanistan would respond to attacks on its territory.
The latest developments come amid continuing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with both sides trading allegations over security threats and cross-border attacks.