Pakistan launched airstrikes and deployed ground troops into Afghanistan’s border provinces on Sunday, escalating tensions between the two neighboring countries and leaving dozens dead. A report has published in BCC regarding the matter.
According to Afghanistan’s Taliban government, at least 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed and more than 160 others injured in the attacks. Taliban officials described the strikes as a “cowardly act” and a “crime and atrocity.”
Pakistan, however, said the operation targeted militant hideouts in the Afghan provinces of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed that 29 militants were killed, calling the strikes a response to recent terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
The latest violence comes amid renewed accusations by Islamabad that Afghanistan is sheltering militant groups responsible for cross-border attacks — allegations the Taliban government has repeatedly denied.
Casualties were reportedly concentrated in Mandokhail village in Paktika province, where Taliban authorities say residential homes were hit.
The escalation follows a suicide attack on Saturday in Karachi that killed three members of Pakistan’s Sindh Rangers. Pakistani officials said one of the attackers was an Afghan national, while Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility.
A ceasefire agreed between the two countries in October last year has effectively collapsed, with repeated border clashes and airstrikes in recent months further deepening the conflict.
