Foreign Office rejects Kabul's civilian casualty claim, says strikes hit militants
Islamabad says attacks launched from Afghan soil caused more than 3,500 casualties in Pakistan in 2026 and demands action against cross-border militancy.
Pakistan's Foreign Office said on Monday that its counterterrorism operations inside Afghanistan were aimed only at militant groups and their logistics support bases, rejecting allegations from the Afghan Taliban administration that civilians were killed, Business Recorder reported.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said terrorist attacks launched from Afghan territory had caused more than 3,500 casualties in Pakistan during 2026 alone. It accused the Afghan Taliban administration of continuing to shelter banned organisations, naming the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which the government refers to as Fitna al Khawarij, and also referring to a Balochistan-based militant group, according to the report.
Pakistan was responding to allegations from Kabul about civilian casualties in its strikes, the report said, and rejected them.
According to The Economic Times, Pakistan also told Afghanistan to end what it called "diversionary" tactics and to act against cross-border militancy.
The reports did not say how many strikes were carried out, when they took place, which districts were hit, or how many people Pakistan says were killed in them. Figures for casualties on the Afghan side were also not available in the material seen by Skardu Times, and neither Pakistan's numbers nor the Afghan allegations could be independently verified.
The Foreign Office statement was carried by Business Recorder, while The Economic Times led on Pakistan's demand that Kabul act against militancy rather than pursue what Islamabad described as diversionary tactics. The full text of the statement was not available in the reports.
The exchange comes amid continuing public recriminations between Islamabad and Kabul over cross-border militancy, with Pakistan repeatedly accusing its neighbour of allowing armed groups to operate from its soil and the Afghan side accusing Pakistan of strikes that it says kill civilians.
Pakistan's statement did not indicate whether further military action was planned, and there was no comment available from the Afghan Taliban administration on the latest Pakistani remarks in the reports consulted.
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