Kabul, Feb 24 (IANS) Called for an independent, thorough and impartial investigation, a leading human rights organisation on Tuesday expressed concern over reports of civilian casualties in Pakistan’s recent airstrikes in Nangarhar and Paktita provinces of Afghanistan.
In a statement, Amnesty International urged all parties involved in hostilities to take necessary steps to prevent harm to civilians in line with their obligations under international law.
“Amnesty International is deeply concerned by the reports of civilian casualties caused by Pakistan’s airstrike in Nangarhar province of Afghanistan on 21 and 22 February. These reports of harm to civilians must be subjected to a thorough, independent, and impartial investigation,” read the statement.
“This is not the first time civilians have borne the brunt of use of force, previously, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan attributed 70 civilians killed and 478 others wounded to the Pakistan military forces between October and December 2025, when border tensions and clashes intensified between the Afghanistan Taliban forces and the Pakistan Military. Amnesty International reiterates its calls to all parties involved in hostilities to take every necessary step to prevent harm to civilians in line with their obligations under international law,” it added.
Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in Pakistan’s airstrikes on Nangarhar and Paktika.
UNAMA stated that 13 people were killed and seven others were injured in Pakistan’s airstrikes in Bahsud and Khogiani districts of Nangarhar on February 21–22 from 11:15 p.m. to 1:45 a.m., Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.
A school and a mosque were hit in two attacks targetting Paktita’s Barmal district, while a house was destroyed in Orgun district of Paktita.
UNAMA condemned Pakistan’s airstrikes and urged all parties to stop hostilities and follow international humanitarian law so that civilians are not harmed. It demanded transparent investigations and accountability and emphasised the need for protective measures for people in conflict-hit regions, Khaama Press reported.
On February 22, Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defence accused the Pakistani military regime of carrying out deadly airstrikes in various residential areas of the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, resulting in the death of several civilians.
According to the Ministry, the strikes targetted a madrasa and multiple residential homes, killing and injuring “dozens of civilians”, including women and children.
The violation of Afghan airspace comes amid what Kabul describes as repeated acts of Pakistani aggression.
Condemning the attack in the strongest possible terms, the Afghan Ministry called it a blatant violation of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty and a clear breach of “international law, the principles of good neighbourliness, and Islamic values”.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defence affirmed that safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and the security of its people are both its “religious obligations and national duties”, while warning that “an appropriate and measured response will be taken at a suitable time”.
“Attacks against civilian populations and religious institutions stand as undeniable evidence of the intelligence and security failures of the Pakistani military, and such repeated acts of aggression will never be able to conceal their internal shortcomings,” the Ministry said.
–IANS
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