India on Sunday condemned the Pakistani air strikes on Afghan territory, which resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, and expressed its support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The Pakistani military carried out air strikes in Afghanistan early Sunday targeting “camps and hideouts” of militant groups behind recent attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad. The Taliban government’s Ministry of Defense condemned the air strikes in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces and warned of an “appropriate and thoughtful response.”
External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said that India “strongly condemns” the Pakistani air strikes on Afghan territory, which led to civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan.
He added: “It is another attempt by Pakistan to project its internal failures abroad.” He added, “India reaffirms its support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.”
According to Afghan media reports, 18 civilians, including women and children, were killed, and five others were injured in Nangarhar province. There were no reports of casualties in Paktika province.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on social media that the army conducted “selective intelligence-based operations” against seven camps and hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates. The airstrikes also targeted the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, which claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the mosque in Islamabad.
The Pakistani ministry said it had “conclusive evidence” that the recent attacks inside the country were carried out by fighters acting “at the request of their leadership and officials stationed in Afghanistan.”
The Taliban’s Defense Ministry condemned the strikes that “hit a religious school and residential homes” in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces and said the attacks were a “violation of international law and the principles of good neighborliness.” She added: “We will respond to these attacks in a timely manner with a thoughtful and appropriate response.”
The air strikes threatened the fragile ceasefire agreement between Afghanistan and Pakistan that was negotiated after bloody border clashes that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians last October.
