Taliban Summon Pakistani Envoy to Protest Military Strikes, 36 Dead

Demonstrators hold a banner during a protest against Pakistani airstrikes in Khost, Afghanistan, on April 16, 2022. AFP via Getty Images

KABUL—Taliban authorities on Saturday summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul to protest against military strikes inside Afghanistan by Pakistani forces.

Residents and a local Taliban official said 36 people were killed in air strikes on Friday by Pakistani aircraft entering Afghan airspace. Pakistan denied it carried out the strikes.

Islamabad claims militants in Afghanistan carry out attacks inside Pakistan by crossing its lawless western border. The Taliban say they have controlled the attacks since taking over the country in August last year.

A statement from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul had been summoned over the recent attacks in Khost and Kunar provinces and given a diplomatic demarche to deliver to Islamabad.

“Military violations including those in Khost and Kunar must be prevented as such acts deteriorate relations ... allowing antagonists to misuse the situation leading to undesired consequences,” the statement quoted acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi as saying.

The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the strikes, but a local Taliban leader in Khost, Mawlawi Mohammad Raes Helal, said two districts were bombed by Pakistani helicopters and that 36 people had been killed.

According to former WSJ reporter and founder of independent watchdog Afghan peace watch, Habib Khan, among the deaths were women and children.

The claim was echoed by some residents, but the Pakistan embassy spokesman denied there had been air strikes and told Reuters the ambassador and the Taliban discussed a resolution of border issues.

There was no official confirmation of the death toll.

Afghanistan’s government in exile at the United Nations also expressed deep concern over “reports of civilian casualties” from the airstrikes, and said that it was working to establish the facts of the attack from the ground.

A wounded boy receives treatment at a hospital following Pakistani airstrikes, in Khost on April 16, 2022. - At least five children and a woman were killed in an eastern Afghan province when Pakistani military forces fired rockets along the border in a pre-dawn assault Saturday, an official and a resident said. (Photo by AFP) Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images

Pakistan has enjoyed good relations with the Taliban for years even though Islamabad was officially an ally of the United States during its 20-year occupation of Afghanistan.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, there have been numerous standoffs along the 2,600 km (1,615 mile) border with Pakistan—drawn by British colonial rulers and disputed by Kabul.

Increasingly frustrated by continuing militant attacks, Pakistan’s military has stepped up operations along the Afghan border in recent months.

The Epoch Times contributed to this report.