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Pak Army denies Afghan allegations of airstrikes amid rising cross-border tensions
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has alleged that Pakistan “bombed” a house in Khost province on Monday night, killing nine children and a woman.
Pakistan Army on Tuesday rejected accusations by Afghanistan's Taliban government that it carried out overnight airstrikes in three eastern Afghan provinces, a charge that comes amid worsening tensions fuelled by a surge in militant attacks along the border.
The denial followed claims by Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who in a social media post said that Pakistan “bombed” a house in Khost province on Monday night, killing nine children and a woman, and conducted additional strikes in Kunar and Paktika that left four others injured.
“Pakistan Army has not attacked civilians inside Afghanistan... Whenever Pakistan attacks someone, it announces it,” Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of Pakistan Army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), was quoted as saying by state broadcaster Pakistan Television.
Chaudhry said that “there are no good and bad Taliban” and there is “no distinction” between terrorists.
He urged Kabul to “make decisions as a state, not as non-state actors,” and questioned how long Afghanistan's current administration intended to function as an interim government.
The alleged strikes in Afghanistan came hours after three personnel of Pakistan's paramilitary Federal Constabulary were killed in a suicide attack on their headquarters in Peshawar on Monday. Twelve others were injured in the assault involving three suicide bombers.
Although no group has claimed responsibility, suspicion has focused on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has stepped up attacks in recent months.
Pakistan has been accusing the Afghan Taliban of failing to stop TTP from using their soil against Pakistan. The Taliban-led Afghan government has been denying the accusations.
