Afghanistan: Pakistani army attacks reportedly killed nearly 50
Demonstration against Pakistani airstrikes, in Khost on April 16, 2022. © AFP
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Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, border tensions with Pakistan have increased.
Islamabad says armed groups are carrying out attacks from Afghan soil and demands a response from Kabul.
Saturday, April 16, attacks “
carried out by Pakistani forces near the Durand line, in the province of Khost
” and in Kunar, killed nearly 50 people, according to the Afghans.
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The attacks reportedly took place before dawn on Saturday.
According to Afghan officials, they were carried out by Pakistani military helicopters.
Other officials had previously mentioned rocket fire.
The airstrikes reportedly hit residential homes in the provincial capitals of Khost and Kunar, near the "Durand line" along the Pakistani border in eastern Afghanistan.
The toll transmitted this Sunday to AFP by Shabir Ahmad Osmani, director of information and culture in Khost, is 41 civilians, “
mainly women and children
”, and 22 wounded, in this province.
Several other local officials mention a death toll still above 40. And the day before, other Afghan officials had reported a death toll of six in Kunar, potentially five children and a woman.
Adding up the latest reports it received from Khost and Kounar, Agence France-Presse therefore evokes this Sunday a total report of at least 47 victims.
Growing tensions between neighbors
The Pakistani army did not comment on possible strikes.
On the other hand, this Sunday in Islamabad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the Taliban authorities in Kabul to contain the militants.
Pakistan calls on the sovereign government of Afghanistan to secure the Pakistan border region and take tough action against individuals involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan
And the Pakistani diplomacy to add that seven Pakistani soldiers had been killed Thursday in the district of North-Waziristan, the work according to it of “
terrorists operating from Afghanistan
”.
On Saturday, the Taliban government in Kabul warned Pakistan, through its spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
We implement all measures to prevent the repetition (of such attacks) and demand that our sovereignty be respected.
The Pakistani side must know that if a war breaks out, it will not be in the interest of either party.
Border inherited from the colonial era
Since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021, border tensions have increased.
In Pakistan's eyes, armed groups, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are carrying out attacks from Afghan soil.
The Afghan Taliban deny harboring Pakistani militants.
Furthermore, they denounce the fence that Islamabad erects between the two countries.
►Read also: Iran: tensions on the eastern borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan
Thousands of people cross the Durand line every day, a 2,700 kilometer long border inherited from the colonial era.
They are traders, Afghans seeking medical treatment in Pakistan, or people visiting relatives.
With agencies
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