Pakistan Airstrikes in Afghanistan Aimed at Terrorist Hideouts
Murad Makhmudov and Sawako Utsumi
Modern Tokyo Times
Pakistan launched airstrikes inside the border areas of Afghanistan. This comes in response to recent Islamic terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
At the weekend, Islamists killed seven Pakistan soldiers in North Waziristan.
In response, Pakistan launched airstrikes aimed at the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group. This terrorist organization and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are responsible for the deaths of hundreds of security forces and civilians in recent times.
Afghanistan said that eight people were killed – the majority were children and women. Naturally, the Taliban government in Afghanistan condemned the airstrikes by Pakistan.
France 24 reports, “Malak Noor Khan, a tribal elder in the Sperah district of Khost, said he saw at least four explosives dropped from drones and jets and that multiple homes were destroyed, one with a woman and her children inside.”
Zabihullah Mujahid (Taliban spokesperson) said, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns these attacks and calls this reckless action a violation of Afghanistan’s territory.”
The Foreign Ministry of Pakistan – in response – said, “We have repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete and effective action to ensure that the Afghan soil is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan. We have also called on them to deny safe havens to TTP and to hand over its leadership to Pakistan.”
Voice of America reports, “Islamabad says that TTP has intensified cross-border attacks from Afghan sanctuaries since the establishment of the Taliban government in Kabul in 2021. The violence has reportedly killed about 2,000 Pakistanis, including police and military personnel, and strained relations between the two countries.”
The TTP and other Islamists are utilizing NATO weapons that were left behind when President Joe Biden decided to pull American troops out of Afghanistan.
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “It is incumbent on Afghanistan and Pakistan to solve complex issues. Afghanistan seeks foreign capital to exploit its natural resources – and Pakistan needs political stability. Therefore, border escalations, terrorism, and mistrust are not in the interest of Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
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