On Wednesday, the Afghan Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires in Kabul to lodge a formal protest over reported airstrikes inside Afghanistan. The strikes, which the Afghan government claims targeted the hideouts of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Paktika province’s Bermal district, have caused significant tension between the two countries.
The airstrikes are alleged to have targeted four locations, with some sources reporting that the TTP was holding a large gathering in Bermal at the time of the bombing. The Pakistani side has remained silent on the matter, but the airstrikes were purportedly aimed at key TTP figures, including Munib Jatt, head of the TTP media cell, and his deputy Abu Hamza, along with Akhtar Muhammad Khalil, a commander of a TTP faction. The strikes appear to be in retaliation for a recent surge in TTP-sponsored terrorist attacks in Pakistan, particularly the deadly assault in South Waziristan that resulted in the martyrdom of 16 Pakistani soldiers.
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While Pakistan has not yet commented on the allegations, the airstrikes coincided with the visit of Pakistan’s special envoy, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, who was in Kabul to hold talks with Taliban officials. His visit, part of a renewed effort to find a political solution to the security issues surrounding the TTP, proceeded as scheduled, even as the Afghan Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistani diplomat Hafiz Zia Ahmad to deliver a strong demarche. The Taliban government in Afghanistan condemned the airstrikes, claiming that 46 people were killed, 6 injured, and several houses destroyed.
In response, the Afghan Ministry of National Defence issued a statement rejecting the strikes as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The ministry warned that such actions were not in line with international principles and would have consequences, as defending Afghanistan’s territory was considered an inalienable right. Kabul also refuted Pakistan’s claims that the airstrikes targeted TTP camps, asserting that the victims were civilians from Waziristan.
This incident marks the second airstrike by Pakistan inside Afghanistan this year, with Kabul strongly protesting the first such strike in March. Islamabad has long accused Afghanistan of harboring TTP militants, who have carried out numerous deadly attacks in Pakistan’s border regions. However, Kabul denies these charges and insists on defending its sovereignty.
