ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday 52 civilians had been killed and 84 injured in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan since Islamabad announced a temporary ceasefire ahead of Eid Al-Fitr, rejecting Afghan allegations that Pakistani retaliatory strikes had caused civilian casualties.
The statement by the Foreign Office came in response to comments by Richard Lindsay, the UK Special Envoy to Afghanistan, who expressed concern over recent violence along the border between the two countries following UN reports of civilian deaths in eastern Afghanistan.
“Cross-border aggression and terrorist infiltration attempts from the Afghan side have continued unabated despite Pakistan’s goodwill gesture of a temporary pause, announced in March 2026,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement, referring to the ceasefire announcement ahead of Eid.
“Since then, indiscriminate and unprovoked cross-border attacks by the Afghan Taliban, and terrorist activities by Afghan Taliban-supported Indian proxies inside Pakistan, have resulted in the shahadat [martyrdom] of fifty-two civilians and eighty-four injuries,” he added.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of allowing its territory to be used by anti-Pakistan militant groups, which, it says, are backed by India, a charge both Afghan and Indian officials deny.
Andrabi’s comments followed a social media post by Lindsay, who urged restraint and dialogue after UNAMA reported that “tens of civilians” were killed or injured in strikes in Afghanistan’s eastern Kunar province, including in areas around Asadabad.
Pakistan said the envoy’s remarks were “one-sided” and lacked an understanding of the situation on the ground, urging greater attention to what it described as the “root causes of terrorism.”
Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated in recent months, with frequent border skirmishes and Pakistan carrying out strikes inside Afghanistan. Pakistani officials say the operations target militant hideouts and Afghan Taliban posts using precision-guided munitions to avoid civilian casualties.
Andrabi said Afghan claims of civilian harm from these strikes “lack evidential credibility,” adding that Pakistan had exercised restraint while responding to threats and thwarting multiple infiltration attempts.
The latest exchange of accusations come amid rising tensions along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border, even after the officials from both countries held peace talks mediated by China in Urumqi.
