Pakistan carries out air strikes inside Afghanistan
The Pakistani military, backed by artillery and air power, has struck more military installations deep in Afghanistan after Pakistan said it was in “open war” with its eastern neighbour.
Pakistan has claimed that more than 300 Afghan soldiers have been killed since hostilities began during a large-scale Afghan cross-border offensive against Pakistan on Thursday night.
Afghanistan rejected it on the grounds that the figures were inaccurate. Casualty figures given by both sides could not be independently verified.
The clash took place in response to Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan last Sunday.
Pakistan said it was targeting the outlawed Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
The group is separate but closely allied with Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban.
But Afghanistan said only civilians were killed in Sunday’s airstrike.
Following the Afghanistan attack, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said on Friday: “Our patience has now run out. There is now an open war between us.”
More than 331 Afghan forces have been killed and more than 500 others injured during ongoing military offensives in Afghanistan, Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday.
He said Pakistan destroyed 102 Afghan outposts, captured 22 people and destroyed 163 tanks and armored vehicles at 37 locations.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Afghan government, said the claim that hundreds of Afghan soldiers were killed and wounded “is not true and we reject it.”
He accused Pakistan of targeting civilian areas in Pktika, Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces, as well as refugee camps in Torkham and Kandahar.
Fitrat said that 52 people, mostly women and children, died and 66 people were injured.
Meanwhile, the United Nations wrote in X that major cities in Afghanistan were reported to have been bombed by the Pakistani army on Friday; This marks a new escalation and raises fears for civilians already struggling under the harsh rule of Taliban authorities.
Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Friday that 13 Afghan soldiers were killed and 22 were injured.
He also said that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Pakistan put its own military figures at 12 dead, 27 wounded and one soldier missing.
Pakistan’s state media reported that the country’s air force carried out attacks targeting key military installations in various parts of eastern Afghanistan.
Hundreds of residents living near the Torkham border crossing in the northwest had fled, according to Pakistani officials.
In recent days, Pakistan has also deported dozens of Afghan refugees to Torkham.
Afghan refugee Ejaz Ul Haq, who was stranded near the Torkham border with his family, said that he could not return to Afghanistan due to the conflicts.
He said many people have difficulty finding food during Ramadan, the month of fasting.
Afghanistan attacked Pakistani military bases in Miranshah and Spin Wam overnight in response to Pakistan’s ongoing air strikes, destroying military facilities and causing heavy casualties, the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.
In eastern Afghanistan, the Ministry of Information and Culture accused Pakistan of targeting civilian areas, destroying houses and killing at least 11 people.
There has been no response yet from Pakistan, which says it only targeted military facilities.
Mullah Taj Muhammad Naqshbandi, one of the commissioners on the Afghan side of the Torkham border, said in a statement on Saturday that “the brave forces of the Islamic Emirate destroyed the commissariat, military units and three important security towers of the Pakistani military regime.”
On Friday, the Afghan government said 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed during the attacks and that Afghan casualties were much lower than Pakistan claimed.
Afghan government spokesman Mujahid said on Friday that the country’s attacks on Pakistan’s military targets amounted to “a message that our hands can reach their throats and that we will respond to every evil action of Pakistan.”
“Pakistan has never tried to solve problems through dialogue,” he added.
Pakistan frequently accuses Kabul of hosting the TTP, allegations that the group and Afghanistan’s Taliban government deny.
