In rare air strikes, Pakistan on Tuesday targeted several suspected Pakistani Taliban hideouts inside neighboring Afghanistan, resulting in the death of at least 15 people, including women and children. The attacks were carried out in a mountainous area of Paktika province bordering Pakistan, where local officials said the death toll was expected to rise.
Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press (AP) on condition of anonymity that a training facility was also destroyed in the attack and some insurgents were killed.
It was reportedly the second Pakistani attack on alleged bases of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), in the border areas inside Afghanistan since March. Islamabad often claims that the TTP uses Afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan, a charge denied by Kabul.
About Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was formed in 2007 as an umbrella organization of various fundamentalist Sunni Islamic groups individually active in Pakistan following Pakistani military operations against al-Qaeda-linked terrorists in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Was done as. A semi-autonomous region in the north-west region of the country composed of seven tribal agencies and six frontier areas.
The TTP, led by deceased Baitullah Mehsud, has its roots on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. Some estimates suggest that TTP has between 30,000 and 35,000 members.
According to the United Nations, its stated objective is to overthrow the elected government of Pakistan in order to establish an emirate based on its interpretation of Islamic law. To this end, TTP has worked to destabilize Pakistan by directly attacking the Pakistani military and assassinating politicians. Its attacks, including several suicide bombings, have killed hundreds of members of the Pakistan Defense Forces, law enforcement personnel and civilians.
The terrorist group is responsible for some of the bloodiest attacks in Pakistan, including the shootings of churches, schools and Malala Yousafzai, who survived the 2012 attack because she was killed as part of a campaign against the Taliban’s efforts to deny women education. Was targeted for.
After the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, it encouraged the TTP, whose leaders and fighters are hiding in Afghanistan. The terrorist organization has stepped up attacks on Pakistani troops and police since November 2022, when it unilaterally ended a ceasefire with the government following the failure of months of talks organized by the Afghan government in Kabul. In recent months the TTP has killed and wounded dozens of soldiers in attacks inside the country.
Kabul’s response
In Kabul, the Afghan Defense Ministry condemned the Pakistani air strikes, saying the bombings targeted civilians, including women and children. It said most of the victims were refugees from the Waziristan region.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan considers this a cruel act against all international principles and blatant aggression and strongly condemns it,” the ministry said.
In a post on the X platform, the Afghan Defense Ministry said that the Pakistani side should know that such unilateral measures are not the solution to any problem. “The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, but considers the defense of its territory and territories as its inalienable right,” it said.
Syed Muhammad Ali, an Islamabad-based security expert, told the AP that Tuesday’s airstrike “represents a clear and unambiguous warning to the Pakistani Taliban that Pakistan will use all available means against the terrorist organization both inside and outside its borders ”
“However, this is not an indiscriminate use of force and due care was taken by Pakistan to ensure that only terrorist hideouts are targeted and there is no loss of civilian life or property,” he said.
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The attacks came hours after Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq visited Kabul to discuss a range of issues including expanding bilateral trade and improving relations.
During the visit, Mr Sadiq met Sirajuddin Haqqani, Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, to express condolences over the killing of his uncle Khalil Haqqani on December 11.
Khalil Haqqani was the minister of refugees and repatriations who died in a suicide bombing claimed by a regional affiliate of the Islamic State group.
In a post on Twitter, the Pakistani minister said he also met Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaki and they “had extensive discussions. Agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation as well as work together for peace and progress in the region.” expressed.”
