Alleged Pakistani air strikes may have hit an already-fragile truce agreement with Afghanistan

Jayanta Bhattacharya

New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS) Pakistan's cross‑border airstrikes into eastern Afghanistan on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday (November 24–25) may bring to an end the instable ceasefire that is hanging fire in the absence of modalities. 
 

Earlier, a similar bombardment led to the Afghan Taliban fighters retaliating with a cross-border attack on Pakistan's border posts on October 11 that led to the stoppage of all trade and transit across the volatile Durand Line.

Simmering tensions has led to several skirmishes along the disputed line, leading to intermittent closing of the border, thus affecting one of its major transit points, especially of trade, for the land-locked Afghanistan.

Now, trade remains suspended through the Afghanistan-Pakistan border since November 12, with Kabul emphasising on the business community to identify alternative routes.

Efforts by regional players to act as mediators between the neighbours did result in a temporary ceasefire agreement between Kabul and Islamabad but they failed to reach a consensus on the specific ways and means to implement peace, despite two consecutive meetings.

The follow-up meetings in Istanbul failed to agree on clauses for implementing the Doha agreement of October 18-19 on both occasions.

The talks were being mediated by Qatar and Turkey, but now, other countries in the neighbourhood, like Iran, are also said to be offering their participation to broker a truce.

Islamabad has repeatedly charged Kabul's Taliban regime of providing space to the Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and for coordinated cross‑border attacks on Pakistan.

Kabul has been reiterating its denial, accusing Pakistan of repeated territorial violations and displacing tens of thousands of Afghan refugees.

On Tuesday, the Taliban claimed that Pakistan's air strikes on some districts in Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces killed at least 10 civilians -- including nine children and one woman.

The strikes were reported to have hit a civilian house in Mughalgai district of Khost province, where the Taliban claimed the death of its residents, adding that other strikes in the border areas of Kunar and Paktika injured several civilians.

Media reports quoting local accounts and Taliban statements described the Khost strike as occurring around midnight and specifically targeting a residential compound, producing heavy damage and civilian casualties.

Some reports attributed the action as Pakistan's response to a suicide bombing in Peshawar on Monday that targeted a paramilitary Federal Constabulary compound and killed several officers.

The immediate aftermath included public condemnation from Afghan officials and a Taliban vow to "respond appropriately", raising fears of further retaliation and a wider security spiral along the porous border.

The Afghan government's spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, told the local media that in the midnight raid, "Pakistani invading forces bombed the home of a civilian in the Mughulgai area of Khost's Gurbuz district, killing nine children (five boys and four girls) and one woman and destroying the house. Airstrikes were also carried out in Kunar and Paktika, injuring four civilians".

Meanwhile, former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai has condemned the attacks and said that Pakistan must abandon such "hostile" policies and refrain from repeating them, reported Tolo News.

Former US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, also expressed condolences to the families of the victims and condemned the attacks, it added.

He said that killing civilians is not a solution to any problem.

--IANS

jb/khz