Pakistan has markedly intensified regional tensions with its airstrikes in Afghan-adjacent areas. Claiming to target anti-Pakistan terrorist groups, particularly Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamabad reports operations across the Nangarhar province's Khogyani, Ghani Khel, and Behsud districts.
A harrowing claim arises from Behsud district, where bombing in a residential area allegedly claimed 19 lives from the same family. Reports indicate 21 individuals present, two suffering injuries. Among the fatalities ranged individuals from an 80-year-old elder to a one-year-old child, with 20-year-old Riazullah named among the injured.
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Reports detail another strike in Paktika province's Barmal district targeting a madrasa. Afghan officials have warned of imminent retaliation for this attack. Nangarhar province police reported 23 family members trapped under debris; only four rescued so far, and rescue operations persist at the site.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcast issued a statement asserting that actions targeted "seven camps and bases" based on intelligence. These sites, according to the ministry, were linked to TTP and its associates, including the Islamic State. The ministry further noted the strikes were responses to three significant attacks in Pakistan since Ramadan commenced.
Two weeks prior, Islamabad witnessed a suicide bombing in a Shia mosque, claiming at least 31 lives and injuring over 160. Islamic State claimed responsibility for what is deemed Islamabad's deadliest attack since the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing.
Islamabad has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing 'anti-Pakistan terrorists' to operate from Afghan soil. Citing the 2020 Doha Agreement, Pakistan insists it's the Taliban's duty to prevent any armed group from using Afghan land against other nations.
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Conversely, the Afghan Taliban deny these allegations, asserting they do not permit any group to target neighboring countries using Afghan soil.
Late last year's deadly border skirmishes had already strained relations between the countries, leading to prolonged closure of vital trade and transit routes, escalating economic and diplomatic tensions.
The recent airstrikes further destabilize an already fragile situation. While Pakistan defends these moves as essential to national security, claims of civilian casualties in Afghanistan stir anger and uncertainty across the region.
