KABUL, Afghanistan – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has reported that at least four civilians were killed and 14 others injured following airstrikes in the Pul-e-Charkhi area of Kabul overnight. The incident, which occurred late Thursday, has drawn sharp international concern and heightened tensions between the Taliban administration and neighboring Pakistan.
In a statement released on Friday, UNAMA confirmed that the casualties included women and children, underscoring the tragic toll on non-combatants. The mission stated it had documented the incident and expressed grave concern about the continued impact of hostilities on Afghan civilians.
“The continued loss of life and injury to civilians is unacceptable,” the UNAMA statement read. The UN mission urged all parties involved in the conflict to immediately halt attacks to prevent further civilian casualties, stressing that protecting civilians must remain a paramount priority during ongoing regional tensions.
Conflicting Accounts and Accusations
Taliban security officials were the first to report the incident, stating that the strikes targeted residential homes in the Pul-e-Charkhi district of Kabul. Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Taliban police command in the capital, confirmed that four people were killed and at least 15 others wounded in the attack.
In a more detailed statement, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that Pakistani aircraft carried out the strikes. Mujahid alleged that the Pakistani military also bombed areas in the southeastern provinces of Kandahar, Paktia, and Paktika. Detailed casualty figures from those provinces were not immediately available, and residents in those regions reported difficulty in communication following the alleged bombings.
Regional Context and Denials
As of Friday evening, Pakistani military and government officials had not issued an official response to the allegations. However, the incident occurs against a backdrop of heightened cross-border friction. Islamabad has long accused the Taliban administration of harboring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban, who launch attacks on Pakistani soil from safe havens in Afghanistan. The Taliban authorities in Kabul deny these allegations.
The latest airstrikes, if confirmed to have been conducted by Pakistan, would represent a significant escalation in cross-border military operations. Pakistan has occasionally carried out what it describes as “intelligence-based operations” against militant targets on the Afghan side of the disputed Durand Line, but strikes deep inside the capital, Kabul, are rare and would mark a major deterioration in ties.
A Worsening Civilian Toll
The United Nations has previously warned that rising tensions and cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Taliban authorities have led to increasing civilian casualties in Afghanistan in recent weeks. Aid workers and human rights organizations on the ground have noted that border regions are becoming increasingly volatile, with local populations often caught in the middle of military operations.
The latest incident highlights the growing regional instability and the urgent need for diplomatic de-escalation to prevent further loss of civilian life in Afghanistan. The international community, including neighboring countries and global powers, faces mounting pressure to facilitate dialogue and prevent Afghanistan from becoming a theater for proxy conflicts that devastate its civilian population.
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