Tensions between the two countries have escalated since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in the summer of 2021.
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Posted on 4/17/2022 5:13 PM Updated on 4/17/2022 5:34 PM
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New deadly phase in rising tensions between the two countries. The Pakistani army killed 47 people in bombing raids in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, April 16, an Afghan Taliban official said on Sunday, April 17.
In the Khost region, 41 people died, all civilians, “mainly women and children,” according to the director of information and culture in Khost. Another Afghan official reported six deaths in Kunar province on Saturday. We are implementing all measures to prevent the recurrence [de telles attaques] and demand that our sovereignty be respected,” the government spokesman warned after Saturday’s strikes. “If a war breaks out, it is not in the interest of either side,” he added.
These attacks appear to be in reprisal: seven Pakistani soldiers were killed near the border on April 14 by “terrorists operating from Afghanistan,” according to the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring Pakistani militants who are launching terrorist attacks against their country from Afghan territory. The Taliban deny these allegations and accuse Pakistan of building a fence along their shared border, which thousands of people cross every day, for example to seek treatment in Pakistan.