Afghanistan summons Pakistani envoy after airstrikes kill 36 civilians

Afghanistan summoned the Pakistani embassy's charge d'affaires in Kabul after overnight strikes hit civilian homes in Kunar, Paktia and Paktika. The protest deepened a fresh escalation that followed the Karachi Rangers attack and renewed cross-border operations.

In Short

• Afghan says 36 killed, over 160 injured in Pakistani strikes
• Pak claims strikes target militants responsible for Karachi attack
• Afghanistan protests, summons Pakistan envoy in Kabul

Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the Pakistani Embassy's Charge d'Affaires in Kabul and lodged a strong protest over what it described as violations of Afghan airspace and the bombardment of civilian homes in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Paktia and Paktika.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan said it conveyed its "strong and decisive protest" to the Pakistani diplomat, accusing Islamabad of carrying out attacks that targeted civilians and residential areas.

The diplomatic move came after overnight Pakistani military operations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border reportedly left dozens of civilians dead and more than 160 injured, marking a significant escalation in the already strained relationship between the two neighbouring countries. The attack, according to Islamabad, was in response to a terror strike in Karachi, for which Pakistan initially tried to blame India without any evidence.

According to Afghan officials, at least 36 civilians were killed and over 160 others wounded in the strikes carried out late Sunday. The Taliban administration condemned the attacks as a "cowardly act of aggression" and an "act of brutality".

Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban government, said Pakistani forces first targeted a residential house in the Paktia province. The strike killed an elderly man and a child and injured several members of the family.

Fitrat alleged that when local residents gathered to rescue victims from the damaged house, the area was struck again. The second strike killed 28 villagers and injured 158 others.

In a separate incident in the same Paktika province, six people, most of them women and children, were killed when another residential building was hit. Afghan authorities also reported an attack on a civilian house in Kunar province, although no human casualties were recorded there. However, around 30 livestock were killed in the strike.

The latest violence follows a Pakistani military operation launched in response to a series of militant attacks inside Pakistan. The military action came shortly after militants attacked the regional headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers in Karachi, killing three paramilitary soldiers.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces conducted a ground operation along the border before launching strikes against what he described as militant hideouts and safe havens. He claimed that 29 militants were killed during the operation.

Islamabad has maintained that the operation in Afghanistan was aimed at terrorist groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians.

According to Pakistan's military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), heavily armed militants belonging to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), stormed the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) camp in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar area late Saturday night.

The attackers allegedly rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the compound's main gate before entering the facility and hurling hand grenades, triggering multiple explosions.

The ISPR said Rangers personnel repelled the assault, killing three attackers and capturing another militant alive. The detained suspect was identified as an Afghan national and was reportedly wounded during the gun battle.

Three Rangers personnel were also killed while defending the compound, the military said.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a militant splinter faction of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the Karachi attack, which marked the city's first major terrorist incident since October 2024, when two Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide bombing near Karachi airport.

However, Pakistan's interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, had claimed that "Indian proxy" was involved in the assault but provided no evidence to support his allegation. India shot back sharply, saying Pakistan should stop "pointing fingers at others" and instead take credible action against terrorist networks functioning within its territory.

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated sharply over the past several months amid escalating border clashes and mutual accusations of supporting hostile elements. Pakistan accuses that the Taliban-led government in Kabul is providing sanctuary to the TTP and affiliated militant groups.

Sunday's strikes occurred less than three weeks after Pakistan carried out similar airstrikes against what it described as militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan. Those operations followed a period of relative calm after both countries had earlier exchanged military strikes in what Pakistani officials described as an "open war."

Multiple rounds of diplomatic negotiations have so far failed to secure a durable ceasefire. China also attempted to mediate between the two sides, hosting talks in April and later announcing that both countries had agreed to avoid further escalation and seek a political solution.

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