Pakistan says 70 militants killed in cross-border strikes; Kabul rejects claim

Pakistans military killed at least 70 militants in strikes along the border with Afghanistan early Sunday targeting what it described as hideouts of Pakistani militants it blamed for recent attacks inside the country the deputy interior minister said Kabul rejected the claimTalal Chaudhry Pakistans deputy interior minister offered no evidence for his claim in an interview with Geo News that at least 70 militants were killed in the strikes Pakistans staterun media later reported that militant fatalities jumped to 80The Afghan Defense Ministry said in a statement that various civilian areas in the provinces of Nangarhar and Paktika in eastern Afghanistan were hit including a religious madrassa and multiple homes The statement called the strikes a violation of Afghanistans airspace and sovereigntyAfghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X the attacks killed and wounded dozens including women and children He said Pakistans claim of killing 70 militants was inaccurate Mawlawi Fazl Rahman Fayyaz the provincial director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society in Nangarhar province said 18 people were killed and several others woundedPakistans president renews warningPakistans President Asif Ali Zardari said late Sunday Islamabads recent strikes along the Afghan border were rooted in Pakistans inherent right to defend its people against terrorism after repeated warnings to Kabul went unheeded Earlier this month Zardari warned that the Talibanled government has created conditions similar to or worse than those before the Sept 11 2001 attacksIn a statement he said Pakistan had exercised restraint by striking only border hideouts but warned that those responsible for attacks inside Pakistan will not remain beyond reach stressing that protecting Pakistani citizens is paramount and nonnegotiableAfghanistans Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistans ambassador to Kabul to protest the Pakistani strikes In a statement the ministry said protecting Afghanistans territory is the Islamic Emirates Sharia responsibility and warned that Pakistan would be responsible for the consequences of such attacksOn Sunday villagers cleared rubble in Nangarhar following airstrikes while mourners prepared for funerals of those killed Habib Ullah a local tribal elder said those killed in the strikes were not militants They were poor people who suffered greatly Those killed were neither the Taliban nor military personnel nor members of the former government They lived simple village lives he told The Associated PressPakistans Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that the military conducted intelligencebased selective operations against seven camps belonging to the Pakistani Taliban or TTP and its affiliates He said an affiliate of the Islamic State group was also targetedTarar said Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region but added that the safety and security of Pakistani citizens remained a top priorityPakistan blames Afghans for suicide bombingsMilitant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent years much of it blamed on the TTP and outlawed Baloch separatist groups The TTP is separate from but closely allied with Afghanistans Taliban Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from inside Afghanistan a charge both the group and Kabul denyHours before the Pakistani strikes a suicide bomber targeted a security convoy in the border district of Bannu in Pakistans northwest killing two soldiers including a lieutenant colonel Pakistans military warned after the attack that it would not exercise any restraint and that operations against those responsible would press onAnother suicide bomber backed by gunmen rammed an explosivesladen vehicle last week into the wall of a security post in Bajaur district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which borders Afghanistan killing 11 soldiers and a child Pakistani authorities later said the attacker was an Afghan nationalTarar said Pakistan had conclusive evidence that the recent attacks including a suicide bombing that targeted a Shiite mosque in Islamabad and killed 31 worshippers earlier this month were carried out by militants acting on the behest of their Afghanistanbased leadership and handlersHe said Pakistan had repeatedly urged Afghanistans Taliban rulers to take verifiable steps to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan but alleged that no substantive action had been taken Tarar also asked the international community to press Afghanistans Taliban authorities to uphold their commitments under the Doha agreement not to allow their soil to be used against other countriesIn Islamabad security analyst Abdullah Khan said the Pakistani strikes suggest that Qatari Turkish and even Saudiled mediations have failed to resolve tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan These strikes are likely to further escalate the situation he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed 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