Kabul [Afghanistan], September 24 (ANI): Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday slammed Pakistan's latest aerial and drone strikes across 10 locations in Afghanistan, accusing Islamabad of continuing its negative policy towards its neighbour and calling on Pakistan to pursue better relations with Afghanistan.
Karzai's remarks came after Pakistan said it had carried out precision aerial and drone strikes at 10 locations across Afghanistan earlier in the day in response to drones that Islamabad said had been launched from Afghan territory on Wednesday.
"Pakistan once again carried out bombings in Kandahar, Khost, and Paktia of our dear homeland. It seems that Islamabad does not intend to abandon its continuation of that negative policy, the fire of which has now reached its own doorstep as well. Pakistan must realise that Afghans as a whole, without any discrimination, stand united and resolute against these aggressions of Pakistan. Once again, I call upon the government of Pakistan to choose the path of good neighbourliness with Afghanistan and to civilise its relations with us," Karzai said in a post on X.
His comments followed a statement by Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who said the Pakistani strikes were carried out in exercise of the country's right to self-defence.
“In exercise of its sovereign right to self-defence, Pakistan conducted precision aerial and drone strikes against 10 locations in Afghanistan used for launching and storing these drones,” Tarar wrote on X, as reported by Dawn.
According to Dawn, Tarar said the targets were locations allegedly used to launch and store drones and maintained that the strikes were restricted to military objectives linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan.
He added that the strikes were “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate, and strictly limited to identified military objectives directly linked to the attempted attacks against Pakistan”.
The Pakistani minister described Wednesday's reported drone incursion as “deliberate and unlawful” and a “blatant violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
Tarar also said that Pakistan had previously conveyed its concerns to Kabul but alleged that, instead of dismantling such networks, the Afghan Taliban chose to “escalate the situation through hostile drone operations against Pakistan”, Dawn reported.
According to Tarar, Pakistan's air defence systems on Wednesday intercepted the drones before they could reach their intended targets.
He said the systems had “detected, tracked and neutralised all intruding platforms before they could reach any of their intended targets, comprehensively thwarting the attempted attack”.
Pakistan's account of the latest escalation followed an incident on Wednesday in which, according to security sources, eight drones launched from Afghanistan entered Pakistani airspace near the Torkham border and Kohat before being shot down, as reported by Dawn.
The latest exchange follows Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan earlier this week.
Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had on Monday vowed an "appropriate response" to Pakistani airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika provinces. Mujahid accused the Pakistani military of targeting civilian areas and described the strikes as a repetition of what he called "crimes" against Afghanistan.
In a post on X, Mujahid said three civilians were killed and four wounded in Kunar, while a house and a local shop were damaged in Paktika, with no casualties reported in that incident.
"Crime and Aggression: Last night, the invading Pakistani army bombarded civilian areas of Afghanistan in Kunar and Paktika provinces. In Kunar, one woman and two men were martyred, and two women and two men were wounded; all of them are local civilian residents. In Paktika, one house and one local shop were bombed, with no casualties reported," Mujahid said.
"We condemn this aggression and oppression and consider it a repetition of crimes. Pakistan's military establishment, in order to divert attention from its own internal security failures, has once again committed such a crime. Afghans will give an appropriate response to this aggression, God willing," he added.
TOLOnews, citing local sources, had reported that Pakistani fighter jets carried out strikes in several parts of Afghanistan early Monday.
According to the report, the Rakha and Torkandi areas of Barmal district in Paktika were targeted in separate strikes, while a separate strike in Kunar reportedly killed three people and injured several others.
The latest statements come as cross-border hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan continue, with both sides issuing competing accounts and warnings over military actions and alleged attacks originating from each other's territory. (ANI)
"Islamabad does not intend to abandon its negative policy": Ex-Afghan President Karzai slams Pak's drone strikes
