NEW DELHI: Amid increasing Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions over Pakistani airstrikes targeting civilians, India expressed solidarity with the Taliban regime in Kabul as it condemned any attack on innocent civilians and said Pakistan is in the habit of blaming neighbours for its internal failures.
The govt said in a statement it had noted the media reports on airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children, in which several precious lives had been lost.
“We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians. It is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. We have also noted the response of an Afghan spokesperson in this regard,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
The Taliban had said in their response that the Pakistan attack violated international principles and norms and would not go unanswered.
According to Pakistan, its airstrikes have been in retaliation against cross-border terrorist attacks by the Pakistan Taliban but Kabul has accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan sovereignty.
Pakistan had in March this year too launched airstrikes in Afghanistan, following tensions over the activities of TTP, or the Pakistani Taliban, which wants strict implementation of the Sharia law in Pakistan.
On December 24, Pakistan targeted several suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, killing at least 51 people, including women and children.
The strikes took place in the mountainous region of Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan.
According to agency reports, seven villages were affected, with the town of Laman particularly hard hit, where five members of one family lost their lives.
Following the attack, tensions along the border rose, with the Taliban warning of potential retaliation for what they called Pakistani aggression.
“Afghanistan considers this brutal act a blatant violation of all international principles and an obvious act of aggression,” Enayatullah Khowrazmi, a spokesman for the ministry of national defence, said in a statement.
“The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered,” he added in the statement.
