KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – India has condemned Pakistan’s air strikes on eastern Afghanistan, as the Taliban threatened to target Pakistani forces in response, further escalating tensions between the two neighboring countries.
In a statement issued on Sunday (22 February), Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, said New Delhi “strongly condemns Pakistan’s air strikes on Afghan territory, which resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan”.
He described the strikes as “yet another attempt by Pakistan to externalize its internal failures” and reiterated India’s support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.
Pakistan carried out air strikes late on Saturday on at least seven locations in the eastern provinces of Paktika and Nangarhar. Pakistani officials said the attacks targeted camps and hideouts belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the armed group ISIL (ISIS), which Islamabad accuses of launching attacks from Afghan soil.
Taliban authorities in Kabul, however, say the strikes hit civilian areas, including residential homes and religious sites. According to figures released by the Taliban, at least 17 people were killed in Nangarhar province, including 11 children, and five others were wounded.
The Taliban’s Ministry of Education said eight students – five boys and three girls – were among those killed in an air strike in Behsud district of Nangarhar. The ministry also reported that a student at a religious school was wounded in Barmal district of Paktika province.
Local sources in Paktika said a house in Urgun district and a religious school in Barmal were struck, but both buildings were empty at the time, resulting in no casualties. Residents in the area reported financial losses due to property damage.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the group would retaliate by targeting Pakistani military forces. In an interview with Ariana News, he accused Islamabad of attacking Afghanistan to deflect attention from its domestic challenges and military setbacks.
He said the Taliban would not target civilians but would instead focus on what he described as “the main perpetrators, the Pakistani military”. Mujahid also claimed that in previous clashes, Taliban forces had destroyed around 20 Pakistani military posts in a single day, killing 58 soldiers and capturing three, who were later released. His claims could not be independently verified.
Islamabad has not directly responded to the Taliban’s latest accusations but has maintained that its operations were aimed at armed groups threatening Pakistan’s security.
The latest strikes come months after previous Pakistani air raids on Kabul and border areas which triggered nearly a week of clashes between Taliban and Pakistani forces. Those hostilities were halted following mediation efforts by Turkey and Qatar, with subsequent talks held in Istanbul, Doha and Saudi Arabia.
Saudia Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
However, no lasting agreement was reached, and relations between Kabul and Islamabad have remained strained. The land border between the two countries has reportedly been closed for nearly five months, halting trade and cross-border movement.
