Kabul erupted in outrage on Sunday as Afghanistan’s National Security Ministry accused Pakistan of launching deadly air strikes on residential areas in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. The attacks, which targeted a madrasa and several homes, claimed the lives of numerous civilians, including women and children.
Ministry officials detailed the horrific toll, describing how ‘a large number of ordinary people’ were killed or injured in the brazen assault. This incident marks yet another escalation in a series of alleged Pakistani incursions into Afghan airspace, fueling Kabul’s long-standing grievances against its neighbor.
In a strongly worded statement, the ministry denounced the strikes as a ‘flagrant violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty’ and a direct breach of international law, principles of good neighborliness, and Islamic values. ‘Protecting our sovereignty and the safety of our people is both a religious obligation and a national duty,’ the statement emphasized, vowing a ‘measured and appropriate response at the right time.’
The ministry further lambasted the Pakistani military, calling the attacks irrefutable proof of their intelligence and security failures. ‘Repeated strikes on civilians and religious sites will never mask their internal shortcomings,’ it added.
Adding to the international outcry, the International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) expressed deep alarm over a particularly devastating strike in Nangarhar’s Behsud district. Local sources cited by the group reported that a single airstrike obliterated one family’s home, killing 16 members—from a one-year-old infant to an 80-year-old elder.
‘Two children miraculously survived, and one person was injured,’ IHRF noted, labeling the incident not just a case of civilian casualties but ‘the complete annihilation of an entire family.’ The organization demanded an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation by international agencies, alongside accountability for those who ordered and executed the strike.
IHRF also urged swift humanitarian aid for the affected families in Behsud and called for global solidarity with ordinary Afghans. ‘The rights and lives of common people must be respected,’ it appealed, underscoring the urgent need to prevent further tragedies amid rising cross-border tensions.