Afghanistan vows ‘appropriate’ response after Pakistan strikes kill 10

JIGE MUGHALGAI, Afghanistan - Afghanistan’s Taliban government vowed on Nov 25 to “respond appropriately” to

overnight border strikes

it blamed on Pakistan that killed 10 people, as tensions soar following a suicide bombing in Peshawar a day earlier.

“The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X.

“As a result, nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman were martyred” in Khost province,

Air strikes targeting the border regions of Kunar and Paktika wounded another four civilians, he added.

The raids were carried out by drones and aircraft, according to Mr Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost.

In Jige Mughalgai, near the Pakistan frontier, an AFP correspondent saw residents searching through the rubble of a collapsed house and preparing graves for victims.

“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time,” Mr Mujahid said in a separate statement.

The Pakistani military did not comment on the strikes when contacted by AFP.

The bombardment follows

a suicide attack on Nov 24

that targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar, killing three officers and wounding 11 others.

No group has claimed responsibility, but state broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals and President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij” – Islamabad’s term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.

Another

suicide blast in the Pakistan capital

Islamabad in November killed 12 people and was claimed by a faction of the Pakistan Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.

Islamabad blamed a militant cell which was “guided at every step by the... high command based in Afghanistan” for the capital attack.

Truce under strain

Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar held a press conference on Nov 25 focused on the Islamabad attack.

He broadcast a video confession from one of the four suspects in custody, and said: “There is clear-cut evidence that TTA (Afghan Taliban) and TTP did it together, and the suicide bomber was a resident of Afghanistan.”

“Afghanistan is fully involved... and their soil is also involved. The people being sheltered there are also involved,” he added on live television, without mentioning the strikes in the neighbouring country.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught since the Taliban swept back to power in 2021, and worsened after deadly border clashes in October that killed around 70 people on both sides.

The fighting

ended with a ceasefire

brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but several rounds of talks in Doha and Istanbul failed to produce a lasting deal, with security issues, especially Pakistan’s demand that Kabul curb TTP fighters proving a sticking point.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, including the TTP, which has waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan for years.

Kabul denies the charge and counters that Pakistan harbours groups hostile to Afghanistan and does not respect its sovereignty.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned this week that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border, each incurring US$150 (S$195.40) to US$200 in daily charges, calling the economic burden “unbearable”. AFP