Key facts
- Pakistan's military rejected a UN report alleging nearly 500 civilian deaths and over 1,000 wounded in cross-border operations in Afghanistan.
- The military stated operations targeted militant hideouts and infrastructure used by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).
- Spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering militants.
- Pakistan claims to have recorded 3,145 terrorism incidents and killed 2,084 militants since January.
- Chaudhry alleged that militants based in Afghanistan carried out 28 suicide attacks in Pakistan since January.
Pakistan's military has vehemently denied allegations made in a United Nations report that its cross-border military operations killed nearly 500 civilians and wounded over 1,000 in neighboring Afghanistan between October and June. Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry described the report as "baseless" during a televised news conference.
Chaudhry asserted that Pakistan's operations were conducted in self-defense, targeting only the hideouts and infrastructure utilized by the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He stated that those killed in the strikes were militants, not civilians. He also questioned the credibility of reports from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Amnesty International, citing restrictions on freedom of expression under the Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Furthermore, Chaudhry accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of providing sanctuary to militants responsible for attacks within Pakistan. He criticized international rights organizations for what he perceived as "double standards," questioning their documentation of violence perpetrated by Afghan-based militants and contrasting it with their focus on Pakistani actions. He highlighted that Pakistan has recorded 3,145 "terrorism incidents" since January, resulting in the deaths of 2,084 militants and 819 Pakistanis, including soldiers, police, and civilians.
Chaudhry also alleged that militants operating from Afghanistan were responsible for 28 suicide attacks in Pakistan since January, suggesting that many of these attackers were Afghan nationals or associated with Afghanistan's security forces, and that drug addicts were recruited for these bombings. He reaffirmed Pakistan's commitment to counterterrorism operations, stating that a new operation was launched earlier this year following a surge in militant violence and that Pakistan is winning the fight against terrorism. The military also accused the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and TTP of directing attacks from Afghanistan into Pakistan's Balochistan province.