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India Condemns Pakistan Air Strikes on Afghan Civilians, Afghanistan Hits Back
Team Finance Saathi
06/Jan/2025
What's covered under the Article:
- The Ministry of External Affairs condemns Pakistan’s air strikes on Afghan civilians, resulting in 46 deaths.
- Afghanistan's leadership labels the strikes a "brutal act" and retaliates with strikes on Pakistani targets.
- Pakistan claims the airstrikes targeted militant hideouts, but Afghanistan denies allowing cross-border attacks.
In a strong condemnation on Monday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India took a firm stand against Pakistan's recent air strikes that targeted civilians in Afghanistan, including women and children. The MEA strongly criticized Pakistan for its long-standing practice of blaming neighboring countries for its internal failures and reiterated its unwavering support for the protection of innocent lives. In its statement, the MEA emphasized, “We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians,” adding that it had taken note of the Afghan leadership’s response to the attacks.
Pakistan's Air Strikes on Afghanistan
The recent air strikes, carried out by Pakistan in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, are reported to have killed 46 people, including many women and children. These attacks targeted what Pakistan claimed to be militant hideouts, but Afghan officials have disputed the justification, calling it a "brutal act" and stating that such arbitrary military actions are not a solution to any problem. According to Afghan authorities, the strikes in the Barmal district of Paktika also caused significant damage to homes, further compounding the humanitarian toll of the attack.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, defended the strikes, asserting that the operation was conducted to address security threats against Pakistan’s citizens, carried out in border areas of Afghanistan. The spokesperson emphasized that the strikes were based on intelligence indicating the presence of militants posing a danger to Pakistan’s national security.
Afghan Response and Retaliation
In a direct response to Pakistan's airstrikes, the Afghan Defence Ministry launched a retaliatory strike targeting Pakistani military points, which were believed to serve as bases and hideouts for hostile elements involved in attacks against Afghanistan. The Taliban-controlled Afghan government refrained from disclosing specific details about casualties or the nature of the strikes. However, the Ministry clarified that these actions were in retaliation for the deadly strikes and were aimed at neutralizing cross-border militant threats.
Tensions Between Pakistan and Afghanistan
The military tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been on the rise, with Pakistan accusing the Taliban-led Afghan government of not doing enough to curb cross-border militant activities. Pakistan claims that various militant groups use Afghan soil as a launchpad for terrorist attacks against Pakistan, a claim which the Taliban denies, stating that it does not allow any organization to carry out attacks from its territory. These accusations and counteraccusations have escalated the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
The repeated incidents of cross-border militancy and the Pakistani military’s actions in Afghan territory have become a flashpoint for tensions between the neighbors. Afghanistan’s retaliatory strikes signal the growing frustration of the Afghan government over the continued violence and lack of resolution to the security issues in the region.
The Impact on Regional Stability
This latest escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan underscores the persistent instability in the South Asian region, with the Pakistani military’s air strikes and Afghan retaliation highlighting the fragile security situation at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The impact of these events is felt not only by the two nations directly involved but also by neighboring countries and international stakeholders concerned about the broader regional implications.