Responding to media queries, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India regrets the strikes that reportedly caused civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan.
“India strongly condemns Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan territory, which have resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan. It is yet another attempt by Pakistan to externalize its internal failures,” Jaiswal said.
“India reiterates its support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan,” he added.
Pakistan previously said it had carried out intelligence-led attacks on at least seven suspected terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan. The action was described as retaliation for recent militant attacks in Pakistan.
Islamabad’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting claimed it had “conclusive evidence” linking multiple attacks – including incidents in Islamabad, Bajaur and Bannu – to Afghanistan-based handlers.
Islamabad authorities said an army lieutenant colonel and a soldier were killed in a suicide bombing in the latest attack in Bannu on Saturday.
The statement said responsibility for several attacks was claimed by militants linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which Pakistan calls Fitna-al-Khwarij, and the Islamic State (Khorasan Province).
“Responsibilities for these attacks were also claimed by the Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna-al-Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, and the Islamic State of Khorsan Province (ISKP),” the ministry said.
Pakistan insisted it had repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban government to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory against Pakistan, but claimed Kabul had failed to take “substantial action”.
“In this backdrop, Pakistan, in retaliatory response, carried out intelligence-based selective attacks on seven terrorist camps and hideouts of Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area with precision and accuracy,” the report said.
Islamabad also called on the Afghan interim government to fulfill its obligations and urged the international community to put pressure on Kabul to fulfill its obligations under the Doha Agreement.
KABUL WARNS FOR ACTION
However, Afghanistan denounced the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty and international law. In a statement, the Afghan Ministry of Defense warned that the attacks in Paktika and Nangarhar provinces would provoke a “necessary and measured response.”
The ministry said protecting the country’s borders and citizens was a “sacred religious and national duty” and asserted that Afghanistan would not remain silent in the face of ongoing cross-border violations.
Kabul further claimed that the attacks targeted civilian and religious sites, describing them as evidence of intelligence failure in Pakistan.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban authorities have steadily deteriorated over Islamabad’s accusations that Kabul is not taking action against anti-Pakistani militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
Tensions had previously escalated into brief armed clashes in October last year, with Pakistan claiming 23 of its soldiers and more than 200 Afghan Taliban fighters killed.
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