Pakistan Military Issues Ambiguous Response to Airstrikes in Eastern Afghanistan
The Pakistani military has issued a cautious response to the Taliban administration’s recent statements regarding alleged airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar, Paktika, and Khost provinces. The military neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the strikes, which reportedly took place on the night of Tuesday, November 26.
A military spokesperson stated that Islamabad never conducts unannounced military operations and insisted that Pakistani forces do not target civilians. According to the Taliban administration, at least 10 civilians were killed in the attacks, which they described as a blatant violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty. The Taliban warned that they would respond “at an appropriate time.”
Speaking to a group of journalists, Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar said, “We do not differentiate between good and bad Taliban; all terrorist groups are the same to us.” He urged the Taliban to act as a formal government rather than a non-state group.
Iftikhar also questioned the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s current leadership, asking, “How long will the current government in Afghanistan remain temporary?”
Tensions between the Taliban administration and the Pakistani government have surged in recent weeks, including the closure of border crossings between the two nations for more than seven weeks. The ongoing border restrictions have dealt a further blow to Afghanistan’s fragile economy and severely limited cross-border movement for Afghan citizens.
