Islamabad Claims It Targeted Members of Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, Not Afghan People
Zahra Baloch, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesperson, provided details regarding the country's airstrikes on Khost and Paktika during a press briefing in Islamabad.
Baloch stated, "Pakistan has not invaded Afghanistan. The operation was not against the people, institutions, or government of Afghanistan. The targets were terrorists belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group.”
Hafiz Gul Bahadur is a prominent commander of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who recently claimed responsibility for an attack on Pakistani security forces in North Waziristan.
Baloch added that Pakistan conducted an intelligence-based operation on March 18 along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, targeting "terrorists" associated with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group.
She said that civilians were not targeted in Pakistan's operations in Afghanistan. She stated that Pakistan respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan."
However, she emphasised that Pakistan would not tolerate terrorist attacks on its soil.
The spokesperson of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Pakistan has repeatedly presented evidence of terrorist presence in Afghanistan.
Although the Taliban has denied the presence of the TTP in Afghanistan multiple times, Pakistan claims that Afghan Taliban have provided shelter to thousands of TTP militants in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani Air Force conducted airstrikes in Paktika and Khost on Monday. Following this, the Pakistani foreign ministry accused the Afghan Taliban of using TTP as a tool and stated that the airstrikes in Afghanistan were anti-terrorism operations.
In reaction to these airstrikes, the Taliban summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul, Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani, and expressed their objections to the airstrike.
Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban spokesperson has stated that in Pakistani airstrikes in Paktika, three women and three children were killed, and in Khost, three members of a family were killed.
