The Taliban's Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, has accused Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilians in recent airstrikes on Afghanistan, telling a senior United Nations official the attacks did not hit armed groups, as the UN confirmed more than a dozen members of one family were killed.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed civilian casualties, including 13 members of a single family. Richard Bennett, the UN Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan, said he was concerned about civilian and child casualties and urged restraint.
According to a statement from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Muttaqi made the remarks during a telephone conversation with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo. The two discussed the bombings and their aftermath.
Summarising his concerns, the ministry said Mr Muttaqi told Ms DiCarlo that civilians were “reportedly targeted” in the strikes and rejected Islamabad’s claims that armed groups were present.
“Over the past four years, in repeated such attacks by Pakistan, only civilians have been targeted,” he said, according to the statement. He added that “no armed individuals have ever been killed as claimed by the Pakistani side”, describing the accusations against Afghanistan as “baseless”.
Mr Muttaqi also said there were “no armed groups present in Afghanistan” and suggested that members of the diplomatic corps could visit the site of the recent airstrike to “assess the situation first-hand”.
Ms DiCarlo, according to the Afghan statement, expressed “deep condolences over the civilian casualties” and said she would raise the issue with UN member states and relevant parties. The two sides also discussed the Doha meetings and related working groups, and agreed that joint efforts would continue.
The diplomatic contact comes as Afghan and Pakistani forces briefly clashed on Tuesday in Nazyan district, Nangarhar province. Both sides blamed each other. No casualties were reported.
Pakistan maintains that its strikes target armed groups operating from Afghan territory and has accused Kabul of allowing Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters to launch attacks inside Pakistan — a charge Afghan authorities have consistently rejected.
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Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 22nd of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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