Taliban says Pakistani air strikes kill 8, all women and children, on Afghan border | 10 points

Pakistan carried out two air strikes in the border regions of Afghanistan, killing eight people, all women and children, a Taliban government spokesman said on March 18.

The border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have risen since the Taliban government seized power in 2021, with Islamabad claiming militant groups are carrying out regular attacks from the neighbouring country.

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Here are 10 points to know

1. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a post on X, said, “At around 3:00 last night, Pakistani planes bombed residential houses in Lehman area of ​​Barmal district of Paktika province and Afghan Dubai area of ​​Sepira district of Khost province, as a result of which six people, three women and three children were killed and one house was destroyed in Paktika. And two women were martyred in Khost province.”

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2. Deploring these attacks in the strongest terms, Mujahid, in a statement further said that the Taliban government “strongly condemns these attacks and calls this reckless action a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty.”

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3. In the statement, the spokesman also said that the people of Pakistan and the new government should stop army generals from continuing their wrong policies and “spoiling the relationship between the two neighbouring Muslim nations”. 

4. Notably, these strikes came after seven Pakistani troops were killed on Saturday in a suicide bombing and coordinated attacks in a northwestern region, for which the country's President Asif Ali Zardari had vowed retaliation.

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5. In Saturday's attack, two officers were among the seven Pakistan Army personnel killed in a terrorist attack in the country’s restive North Waziristan region. A Lieutenant Colonel and a Captain were killed along with five soldiers. All the six terrorists who attacked the check post in Mir Ali area were shot dead. "Pakistan has decided that whoever will enter our borders, homes or country and commit terror, we will respond to them strongly, regardless of who it is or from which country,” Zardari was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Pakistan Army, as reported by PTI.

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6. Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan took responsibility for the suicide bombing at the military post. It is one of the strongest militant groups in North Waziristan.

7. Speaking about the attack, a local government official in Pakistan border regions told AFP that the military carried out the strikes in response to Afghan forces "targeting Pakistani territory". "Announcements have been made in mosques to empty some areas in Kurram and North Waziristan as clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan continue on and off at the border," he added, according to the AFP report.

8. Areas along the border have long been a stronghold for militant groups such as Pakistan's home-grown Taliban group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates across the porous frontier with Afghanistan. Analysts have said that the militant groups in the former tribal regions have gained confidence following the Taliban's resurgence, leading to an escalation in TTP's attacks against security forces, as reported by AFP.

9. In 2021, with the United States and NATO forces nearing the end of their 20-year conflict, the Afghan Taliban took control of the country. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan emboldened the TTP, whose top leaders and fighters are hiding in Afghanistan.

10. The Pakistani Taliban have increased their attacks within Pakistan in recent years, causing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, even though the Taliban administration in Afghanistan frequently declares that it will not permit the TTP or any other militant group to attack Pakistan or any other country from its turf.

(With inputs from AFP, PTI and AP)