India condemns Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan provinces, says it vitiates regional peace and security

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New Delhi: India has strongly condemned fresh Pakistani airstrikes targeting civilian areas within Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces, which resulted in fatalities and injuries, emphasising that such acts of aggression severely undermine regional peace and stability.

Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Tuesday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal extended heartfelt condolences to the grieving families while wishing a swift recovery to those injured in the bombardment. He additionally reiterated India’s resolute backing for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.

“We strongly condemn the attacks from Pakistan, the airstrikes which were launched on Afghanistan in their Kunar and Paktika provinces. In these airstrikes, several civilians have been killed. We deeply offer our condolences on the precious lives lost. We also hope that those who have been injured in this attack, they recover well and they recover soon. Such instances of aggression against a sovereign neighbour is something that goes against the regional peace and security, it vitiates the regional peace and security,” Jaiswal stated.

“It is yet another occasion of aggression from the Pakistani side. We also reaffirm our strong support, steadfast support for Afghanistan for their independence, for their sovereignty, for their territorial integrity as also for the welfare and well-being of their people,” he added.

The official condemnation follows disclosures by Afghan authorities on Monday indicating that Pakistani aerial bombardments in Kunar and Paktika resulted in three civilian deaths and four injuries.

Afghan government chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid sharply denounced the cross-border strikes executed by Islamabad, warning that Kabul would deliver a decisive and suitable riposte to the military aggression.

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Mujahid detailed that the strikes claimed the lives of one woman and two men, alongside injuring two women and two men, while additionally targeting a local residence and a shop in Paktika.

Accusing the Pakistani military establishment of orchestrating the offensive to deflect public scrutiny from its severe domestic security failures, Mujahid underscored that the strikes represented a continuous cycle of oppression against innocent civilians.

“Crime and Aggression: Last night, the invading Pakistani army bombarded civilian areas of Afghanistan in Kunar and Paktika provinces. In Kunar, one woman and two men were martyred, and two women and two men were wounded; all of them are local civilian residents. In Paktika, one house and one local shop were bombed, with no casualties reported,” Mujahid posted on X.

“We condemn this aggression and oppression and consider it a repetition of crimes. Pakistan’s military establishment, in order to divert attention from its own internal security failures, has once again committed such a crime. Afghans will give an appropriate response to this aggression, God willing,” he added.

(Source: ANI)

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