Kabul [Afghanistan], November 25 (ANI): At least nine children and a woman were killed after Pakistani forces bombed a house in Afghanistan’s southeastern Khost province, according to Afghan authorities — a claim denied by Pakistan’s military, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban administration, said the attack occurred at midnight (local time) in the district of Gurbuz. The incident risks reigniting hostilities as a fragile ceasefire between the two nations remains under strain, with each side blaming the other for the deadlock in negotiations.
“The Pakistani invading forces bombed the house of a local civilian resident, Waliat Khan, son of Qazi Mir,” Mujahid wrote in a post on X. “As a result, nine children [five boys and four girls] and one woman were martyred, and his house was destroyed,” he added.
Mujahid said additional airstrikes took place in northeastern Kunar and eastern Paktika provinces, injuring at least four civilians, according to Al Jazeera.
Later on Tuesday, Pakistani military spokesperson Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry rejected the Afghan government’s account and said Pakistan does not target civilians. The denial came after Mujahid declared that Afghanistan would “respond appropriately at the right time.”
“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and crime and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right,” he said in a social media statement, as reported by Al Jazeera.
The bombardment in Afghanistan follows a suicide bombing a day earlier that targeted the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar, Al Jazeera reported. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar — a splinter group of the Pakistan Taliban (TTP) — claimed responsibility for the attack.
State broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals, and President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij,” Islamabad’s term for the TTP fighters it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.
Earlier this month, another suicide attack in Islamabad killed at least 12 people and was also claimed by a Pakistan Taliban faction. Pakistan said the attackers were directed “at every step” by leadership based in Afghanistan, according to Al Jazeera.
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