President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan said the country’s recent airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan were justified as an act of self-defense against what he described as cross-border terrorism.
The strikes, carried out late Saturday night in parts of Nangarhar and Paktika Provinces, reflected Pakistan’s “right” to protect its citizens, Zardari said, citing the latest report of the United Nations Security Council.
“Those responsible for bloodshed inside Pakistan will not remain beyond reach,” he warned.
The comments came amid escalating tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban following the cross-border attacks.
Taliban have condemned the airstrikes as an act of aggression and an attack on civilians. They claim that more than 20 civilians — including women and children — were killed in Behsud district of Nangarhar province.
Pakistani officials have offered a sharply different account, claiming that the airstrikes targeted hideouts of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Daesh’s Khorasan branch. They claim nearly 70 militants were killed.
According to Taliban officials, Pakistani fighter jets struck areas in the districts of Khogyani, Ghani Khil and Behsud in Nangarhar Province, as well as Barmal district in Paktika Province, around midnight on Feb. 21.
In response, the Taliban’s Defense Ministry said it would deliver a “calculated response at an appropriate time,” accusing Pakistan of targeting civilian and religious sites and calling the strikes a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information previously described the operation as retaliatory, saying it was carried out in response to recent suicide and car bomb attacks inside Pakistan, including assaults on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad and attacks in Bajaur and Bannu during Ramadan.
