Pakistan Denies Targeting Civilians In Strikes Inside Afghanistan
Pakistan’s information minister said the country’s military operations inside Afghanistan targeted militant hideouts and did not include attacks on civilian areas.
Pakistan’s information minister said the country’s military operations inside Afghanistan targeted militant hideouts and did not include attacks on civilian areas.
Attaullah Tarar made the remarks Monday, after the United Nations confirmed the deaths of at least 56 Afghan civilians in Pakistani strikes.
In an interview with Arab News, Tarar said Pakistan’s actions were based on precise intelligence and aimed at dismantling what he described as terrorist infrastructure operating from Afghan territory.
He said civilian areas were not deliberately targeted and added that Pakistan’s operations were directed only at militant networks and their logistical support systems.
Tarar had earlier said that since the start of the attacks, 64 locations across Afghanistan had been targeted in airstrikes. He dismissed casualty figures released by Taliban authorities as fabricated and not credible.
Responding to reports of Afghan civilian casualties cited by the UN mission in Afghanistan, Tarar said the organisation largely relied on information provided by the Taliban administration.
Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 56 civilians, most of them women and children, had been killed and 129 others wounded in clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban.
Tarar warned that Pakistan would respond swiftly to any hostile action and would target militants and their supporters, including what he described as some Taliban military facilities.
