Calling it Pakistan’s “old practice to blame neighbours for its own failures”, the MEA on Monday condemned Islamabad’s recent airstrikes in Afghanistan. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had taken note of media reports on “airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including…

Tribune News Service

Calling it Pakistan’s “old practice to blame neighbours for its own failures”, the MEA on Monday condemned Islamabad’s recent airstrikes in Afghanistan.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had taken note of media reports on “airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children, in which several lives had been lost”. “We unequivocally condemn any attack on civilians. It’s an old practice of Pakistan to blame neighbours for its own failures,” he said.

On December 24 last year, Pakistan had launched airstrikes on Afghanistan’s Barmal district in Paktika province. The Taliban-led Afghanistan government had said 46 persons were killed in the airstrikes. The tensions between the two countries escalated after an attack by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) left 16 Pakistani soldiers dead on December 21 last year.

On December 28, the Taliban’s defence ministry said its forces targeted Pakistani points that “served as centres and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organised and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan”. One Pakistan soldier was said to have been killed.Pakistan has been accusing the TTP of using Afghanistan as a base to orchestrate attacks on Pakistani security forces. As per the United Nations Security Council report, an estimated 6,000 TTP fighters operate in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule.

However, the Taliban has denied these allegations and termed the issue as Pakistan’s internal matter. Taliban has maintained that Pakistan had long history of supporting Islamist movements, something that was hitting it back hard.

For decades, Pakistan had been supporting Taliban. Following the group’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021, Islamabad had expected the Taliban to crack down on the TTP. However, the Taliban didn’t taken up any fight with the TTP.

Former US ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad said Pakistan was grappling with “triple crises” including the imprisonment of former PM Imran Khan; economic challenges; and intensified security threats. “Pakistan needs a reset. It must start with freedom for Imran Khan,” Khalilzad said.