The Albany Gazette - Pakistan denies deadly strikes after Afghanistan vows retaliation

An air raid on Khost province "martyred" nine children and a woman, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid posted on X, blaming Pakistani forces and saying the target was "the house of a local civilian resident".

Residents of the targeted area near the Pakistan frontier searched through the rubble of a collapsed house and prepared graves for victims, an AFP correspondent saw.

"Our request from the government of Pakistan is this: do not bomb ordinary people," said Sajidulrahman, a resident of the Jige Mughalgai area.

"Civilians have done nothing wrong."

Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost, said the strikes were carried out by aircraft that included drones.

The nearby border regions of Kunar and Paktika were also hit, wounding at least four people, government spokesman Mujahid said.

"The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time," Mujahid said in a separate statement.

Pakistan denied carrying out any attack. According to state broadcaster PTV, military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said: "Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan."

"Whenever we conduct a strike, it is announced openly and properly," he said. "Pakistan never attacks civilian populations. The allegations of the interim Afghan government are baseless."

The bombardment came after a suicide attack on Monday killed three officers and wounded 11 others at the headquarters of Pakistan's paramilitary Federal Constabulary force in Peshawar.

No group has claimed responsibility, but state broadcaster PTV reported the attackers were Afghan nationals.

President Asif Zardari blamed the "foreign-backed Fitna al-Khawarij" -- Islamabad's term for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militant group it accuses of operating from Afghan soil.

Another suicide blast this month killed 12 people outside a court in the Pakistani capital. It was claimed by a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, which shares the same ideology as the Afghan Taliban.

Islamabad has said the militant cell behind the capital attack was "guided at every step by the... high command based in Afghanistan".

- Truce under strain -

Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters on Tuesday there was "clear-cut evidence" linking the Afghan Taliban to the Islamabad bombing.

He aired an alleged video confession from one of four suspects in custody and said: "Afghanistan is fully involved... and their soil is also involved. The people being sheltered there are also involved."

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been fraught since the Taliban swept back to power in Kabul in 2021, and worsened after border clashes in October killed around 70 people on both sides.

That fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but several rounds of talks in Doha and Istanbul failed to produce a lasting deal.

Security issues have proved a sticking point, especially Pakistan's demand that Kabul curb TTP fighters.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering militants behind a surge in attacks, particularly the TTP, which has waged a bloody campaign against Pakistan for years.

The border between the neighbours has remained closed for more than six weeks since the October clashes, freezing bilateral trade.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned that thousands of containers remain stuck at the border, each incurring $150–$200 in daily charges, calling the economic burden "unbearable".

(F.Jackson--TAG)