agencies
Islamabad
The Taliban government’s defence ministry in Kabul announced on Saturday it had targeted several "hideouts of wicked elements and their supporters” inside Pakistan in a retaliatory action.
The ministry statement alleged that these centres were used to organize and plan attacks on Afghanistan’s soil.
The statement from the defence ministry on Saturday did not directly specify that Pakistan was hit, but said the attacks were conducted "beyond the ‘hypothetical line’” – an expression used by Afghan authorities to refer to a border with Pakistan that they have long disputed.
No details of casualties or specific areas targeted were provided. The Pakistani military’s public relations wing and a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan is tense amid ongoing clashes along their border. Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan soil this week killed dozen of civilians, including 20 children, the UN said. The UN called the Tuesday bombing by Pakistani forces on Afghanistan’s Paktika border province a violation of international law.
Afghan authorities reported that the victims were refugees fleeing conflict from the Waziristan region in Pakistan and warned of retaliation.
However, Pakistan claims that the airstrikes targeted suspected Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant hideouts. The TTP is a militant group that has been responsible for numerous attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad claims that the TTP is hiding on Afghan soil, a claim that Kabul denies.