In a sharp reaction to overnight attack by Pakistani warplanes on Barmal in Paktika province, Taliban's Ministry of Defence said that it "will not leave the attack unanswered, and considers defence of its territory as its inalienable right".
The ministry said that "Waziristani refugees" were targeted in the attack.
Security sources close to the Pakistani military told reporters that the airstrikes targeted Pakistani Taliban border hideouts.
The Pakistani Taliban have stepped up their attacks on Pakistani security forces. Pakistani officials have said that the Afghan Taliban is not cooperating with the country to curb attacks by Pakistani militants.
Inayatullah Khwarizmi, a spokesman for the Taliban's Ministry of Defence, rejected the claim of Pakistani security sources and wrote on his account on social media platform X that "civilians, most of whom are Waziristani refugees", were killed in the attack.
He did not give a figure on casualties, but said that "a number of children and other civilians were martyred and wounded”.
According to the Taliban, Waziristani refugees are ordinary people in the tribal areas who have been displaced following the Pakistani army's operations. However, the Pakistani government says that dozens of TTP commanders and fighters have fled to Afghanistan and have been resettled under the protection of the Afghan Taliban in the provinces bordering Pakistan.
Asif Durrani, Pakistan's former special envoy for Afghanistan, told an Iranian media outlet on Tuesday that there are 12 key commanders of the Pakistani Taliban in Afghanistan and that the Afghan Taliban is not cooperating to disarm them.
In a warning tone about the Pakistani airstrike, the Taliban's Ministry of Defence said that "the Pakistani side should know that such arbitrary actions are not the solution to any problem”. "The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered, and considers it its inalienable right to defend its territory and privacy," the ministry added.
The Afghan Taliban has called on the Pakistani government to resolve the issue of militants through dialogue with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). However, Islamabad has refused to talk to the group, insisting on its complete elimination as a terrorist group.
