The UN assistance mission, UNAMA, has confirmed that at least 28 civilians were killed and 49 others injured in Pakistani airstrikes on three eastern provinces of Afghanistan on Sunday night.
UNAMA said the strikes, carried out late Sunday, hit Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. Women and children were among those killed and wounded, it said, adding that the casualty figures remain preliminary and could rise as hospitals continue treating the injured.
According to UNAMA, the deadliest strike occurred at about 11:30 p.m. local time in Samkanai district of Paktia province, where at least 22 civilians were killed and 47 others injured.
A separate strike in Gayan district of Paktika province killed six civilians, while another attack in Marawara district of Kunar province injured two children, the mission said.
UNAMA said it was continuing to verify the incidents.
The UN mission urged all parties to comply with international humanitarian law, reiterating the principles of precaution, distinction and proportionality to protect civilians during military operations.
“We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery for the injured,” the mission said in a statement.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has acknowledged that its security forces carried out the strikes.
The ministry has said that the attacks targeted hideouts belonging to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, militant groups that Islamabad blames for a series of recent attacks inside Pakistan.
In a statement on Sunday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes killed 28 militants, destroyed three militant targets and were conducted in response to recent attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh, including an assault on a Pakistan Rangers camp in Karachi.
The Taliban have rejected Pakistan’s account, saying the strikes hit residential areas rather than militant hideouts.
Earlier Monday, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires in Kabul and lodged what it described as a “strong and unequivocal protest,” saying Pakistan has violated Afghanistan’s sovereignty and international law.
Taliban had initially said 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 163 others injured in the strikes. UNAMA’s independently verified toll is lower, though the UN said its assessment remains preliminary.
The strikes were the second Pakistani cross-border air operation inside Afghanistan this month.
On June 11, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces. UNAMA later confirmed that 13 civilians were killed in those attacks, despite Pakistan’s assertion that it had targeted militant positions.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have deteriorated sharply over the past several years, with Islamabad saying the Taliban have allowed anti-Pakistan militants to operate from Afghanistan’s territory, an allegation the Taliban deny.
