Afghanistan vows ‘appropriate’ response after Pakistan border strikes kill 10, including nine children, escalating tensions after a suicide bombing in Peshawar.
JIGE MUGHALGAI: Afghanistan’s Taliban government vowed to “respond appropriately” to overnight border strikes it blamed on Pakistan that killed 10 people.
Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes in Khost province killed nine children and one woman, and wounded four others in Kunar and Paktika.
“The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident,” Mujahid posted on X.
Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost, said the raids were carried out by drones and aircraft.
An AFP correspondent in Jige Mughalgai saw residents searching through rubble 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,” 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 Monday that targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar.
That attack killed three officers and wounded 11 others, with state broadcaster PTV reporting the attackers were Afghan nationals.
President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij”, Islamabad’s term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught since the Taliban swept back to power in 2021.
Tensions worsened after deadly border clashes in October that killed around 70 people on both sides.
A ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but subsequent talks have failed to produce a lasting deal.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, including the TTP.
Kabul denies the charge and counters that Pakistan harbours groups hostile to Afghanistan.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border.
Each container is incurring USD 150–200 in daily charges, creating what the chamber called an “unbearable” economic burden.
