&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Attempt to externalise its internal failures’: India condemns Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghanistan")
India on Sunday (Feb 22) strongly condemned Pakistan's air strikes in Afghanistan that killed nearly 20 people, including women and children. New Delhi termed Islamabad's recent military attack as "another attempt by Pakistan to externalise its internal failures" and reiterated India's support for Afghanistan's "sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence" in the face of aggression.
"India strongly condemns Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory that have resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, during the holy month of Ramadan," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.
India's response comes after Pakistan Air Force launched multiple airstrikes across eastern Afghanistan on Sunday. The operation marks a severe escalation in an already volatile relationship between the two countries.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information claimed that the operation was "intelligence-based" and “highly selective” in picking targets, which he called terror hideouts belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Islamic State-Khorasan Province (IS-KP).
Islamabad struck 7 targets in Nangarhar Province and Paktika Province of Afghanistan and claimed that over 80 militants were killed and multiple training centres were destroyed in these attacks.
However, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the strikes hit residential areas and a religious seminary, killing dozens of civilians, including at least 17 members of a single family in Behsud.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
Pakistan touted these strikes as a "retributive response" to the recent surge in terror attacks inside Pakistan, including the Islamabad Mosque Bombing and Banu attack, as it blamed Afghanistan for providing sanctuary to terrorists in its territory, a claim that Kabul denies.
Also Read: Who was Edwin Lutyens? His statue at Rashtrapati Bhavan to be replaced with C Rajagopalachari’s
Responding to airstrikes, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani ambassador and described the strikes as a ‘provocative act’ and a clear breach of the country's territorial integrity, warning that Pakistan would bear responsibility for the consequences.
Taliban's defence ministry vowed a strong response to Pakistan for "targeting civilians and religious sites" and condemned the attack as “a breach of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness.”
“We hold the Pakistani military responsible for targeting civilians and religious sites. We will respond to these attacks in due course with a measured and appropriate response," It said in a statement.
