KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The European Union Delegation to Afghanistan has called for the protection of civilians following recent Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces.
In a post on X on Wednesday, September 23, the EU Delegation said civilians must be protected and international humanitarian law must be respected.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has confirmed that three civilians were killed in the recent Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan.
Pakistani fighter jets bombed areas in Nurgal district of Kunar province and Barmal district of Paktika province early Monday morning September 21.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban authorities, said a residential house in the Patan area of Nurgal district, Kunar, was targeted. He said an elderly man, his wife and their daughter were killed in the strike, while four other members of the family were injured.
According to Mujahid, the Pakistani strikes in Barmal district of Paktika targeted an empty house and a shop and caused no casualties.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry however, said on Monday that the country’s military had conducted strikes on suspected militant hideouts inside Afghanistan, claiming that 28 militants and suicide bombers were killed. Pakistani officials did not initially disclose the precise locations of the targets.
The latest Pakistani airstrikes followed reports of clashes between Taliban forces and Pakistani troops along the disputed Durand Line. Local sources in Zazi Aryub district of Paktia province said the two sides exchanged fire in the Spin Shaga area near the border.
The strikes also came days after a deadly militant attack in Pakistan. On Friday, September 18, a suicide bombing followed by a gun attack at a police complex in Kohat district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa killed at least 31 people, including 16 police officers, according to a senior Pakistani police official cited by AFP. More than 100 others were reportedly injured.
The attack took place at the Old Police Lines complex, which contains a mosque. Police said a vehicle carrying explosives was driven into the compound before armed militants attempted to enter the police facilities. The attack occurred while police officers and their families were attending Friday prayers, according to the provincial police chief.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused militant groups based in Afghanistan, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), of carrying out attacks on Pakistani soil. The Taliban authorities have rejected the allegations and maintained that militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue for Islamabad to address.
