Pakistan Launches Airstrikes in Afghanistan After Karachi Terror Attack, Kabul Reports 38 Civilian Deaths
By The Media Line Staff
Pakistan launched airstrikes and ground operations along its border with Afghanistan on Monday, saying it killed at least 29 suspected terrorists, while Afghan officials said the attacks instead killed dozens of civilians, highlighting sharply conflicting accounts of the cross-border operation.
Reuters reported that Pakistani forces killed at least 29 suspected terrorists during the operation. Pakistani authorities said 25 militants were killed in airstrikes targeting three locations in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar, while four additional fighters linked to the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of Pakistan’s Taliban were killed in separate ground operations in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X that the airstrikes destroyed “large quantities” of weapons and ammunition. He also said Pakistan’s security forces had carried out precise strikes on terrorist camps and safe havens.
Speaking at a press conference, Tarar said the military campaign was launched following what he described as a series of recent terrorist attacks, including a Saturday assault by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar on a Sindh Rangers facility in Karachi that killed three troops and wounded four others.
Tarar also alleged that Pakistani aircraft conducted a second strike on one of the targeted locations while rescue operations were underway.
Afghanistan disputed Pakistan’s account of the operation. Government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said the strikes killed 38 civilians and wounded 163 people, including women and children.
Fitrat said most of the casualties resulted from a Pakistani strike on a house in Paktia province, where he said 28 people were killed and 158 others were injured.
The differing casualty figures added to disagreements between Islamabad and Kabul over the operation and appeared likely to increase tensions along the border following clashes between the two countries in February.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing sanctuary to terrorists responsible for planning attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban has rejected those allegations, saying terrorism is an internal Pakistani issue.
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