An Afghan interim government official on Monday said that the Afghanistan provinces of Paktika and Khost along the Pakistan border were hit by airstrikes, which killed eight people.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the government, alleged in a statement that Pakistani aircraft had carried out the airstrikes on Afghan soil.
At “around 3am, Pakistani aircraft bombarded civilian homes” in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border with Pakistan, said Afghan interim government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, claiming that all eight people killed were women and children.
Mujahid told Dawn.com that planes had bombed the Laman area in Paktika’s Barmal district and the Afghan-Dubai area in Khost’s Spera district.
Alleging that “houses of common people were targeted”, he said three women and as many children were killed in Paktika and a house collapsed while two women were killed in Khost, where a house was destroyed as well.
The strikes come a day after President Asif Ali Zardari vowed retaliation following the martyrdom of seven soldiers, including two officers, in a terrorist attack on a security forces’ post in North Waziristan on Saturday.
Offering the funeral prayers of the two officers, he asserted that the blood of the martyrs would not go in vain and the country would avenge them. The president said Pakistan would not hesitate to strike back if attacked by anyone at borders or inside its territory.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadar group had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in North Waziristan. Security officials say that fighters of the Gul Bahadar group operate from the Afghan side of the border, mostly from Khost.
The Paktika province is located near Pakistan’s South Waziristan District while Khost is situated near North Waziristan.
In a government statement posted on Mujahid’s X account, he said: “The Pakistani side is saying that [militant] Abdullah Shah was targeted in the strikes but he lives on the Pakistani side. Members of the same tribe live on both sides and routinely move across the border.”
He stated: “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the attacks and describes these as non-serious actions and violation of Afghanistani territory.”
The spokesperson further said: “Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for their problems and failure to control violent incidents. Such acts can lead to dire consequences which will not be in control of Pakistan.”
The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also confirmed the strikes.
The strikes come amid growing contact between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban rulers in recent days.
Pakistani charge d’affaires in Kabul travelled to Kandahar last week to meet Mullah Shirin Akhund, the Taliban governor for southern Kandahar who is one of the close confidants of the Taliban chief.
