Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government has accused the Pakistan Air Force of carrying out “double-tap” airstrikes in the country’s eastern provinces, claiming the attacks killed at least 35 civilians, including children and elderly people. While Pakistan says the operation targeted militant groups, Kabul has condemned the strikes as a “barbaric act of aggression” and a “war crime.”
According to Taliban officials, the first wave of airstrikes was launched at around 12:30 a.m. local time on Sunday in residential areas and a mosque in Gayan district of Paktika Province, Chamkani district of Paktia Province, and Marawara district of Kunar Province.
In military terminology, a “double-tap” strike refers to a second attack on the same location shortly after the initial strike. The Taliban claims that approximately 25 minutes after the first bombardment, when local residents rushed to rescue women and children trapped beneath the rubble, Pakistani warplanes returned and bombed the same locations again.
According to the Taliban administration, the second strike raised the death toll to at least 35, while more than 100 people were injured and taken to hospitals.
In a statement, Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid strongly condemned the attacks, describing them as “cowardly aggression” and an act of criminal brutality. He said attacks targeting innocent civilians are unacceptable under any circumstances.
Taliban authorities said several of those killed were children between the ages of four and nine, as well as elderly civilians. Videos circulating on social media purportedly show injured children receiving treatment in local hospitals. A resident of Chamkani claimed there were no armed groups present in the area at the time of the strikes and that only civilians had been affected.
Pakistan, however, offered a different account of the operation.
In a post on X, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the airstrikes were conducted on the basis of intelligence following recent militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and on a Rangers camp in Karachi. He claimed the operation targeted hideouts belonging to the banned militant group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and what he referred to as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” resulting in the deaths of 29 militants.
Pakistan has repeatedly alleged that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) uses Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban-led government in Kabul has consistently rejected those accusations.
Meanwhile, developments inside Pakistan have also drawn international attention. Following the attack on the Rangers headquarters in Karachi, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi alleged the involvement of “Indian proxies,” a claim that India has denied.
Separately, the sentencing of human rights activist Mahrang Baloch to life imprisonment and the temporary suspension of broadcasts by Geo News have also attracted criticism from rights groups and media observers.
Source: NDTV.