New Delhi, September 22, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India on Tuesday strongly condemned the latest Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces, saying attacks against a sovereign neighbouring country undermine regional peace and security.
Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal expressed condolences to the families of civilians reported killed in the strikes and wished those injured a speedy recovery.
“We strongly condemn the attacks from Pakistan, the airstrikes which were launched on Afghanistan in their Kunar and Paktika provinces. In these airstrikes, several civilians have been killed,” Jaiswal said.
He added that such instances of aggression against a sovereign neighbour “go against the regional peace and security” and reaffirmed India’s “strong” and “steadfast” support for Afghanistan’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“It is yet another occasion of aggression from the Pakistani side. We also reaffirm our strong support, steadfast support for Afghanistan for their independence, for their sovereignty, for their territorial integrity as also for the welfare and well-being of their people,” Jaiswal said.
India’s reaction came a day after Taliban authorities reported civilian casualties in the Pakistani strikes on Kunar and Paktika. Afghanistan’s authorities said three civilians were killed and four others injured, while the United Nations also confirmed three civilian deaths.
Taliban chief spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the strikes and warned that Afghanistan would give an “appropriate response”. He said a woman and two men were killed in Kunar, while two women and two men were injured.
Mujahid also claimed that a house and a local shop were targeted in Paktika, without casualties being reported there. He accused Pakistan’s military leadership of carrying out the strikes to divert attention from security problems inside the country.
Pakistan, however, said its airstrikes targeted militants. Pakistani authorities reported that 28 people described as militants or suicide bombers were killed in strikes on three targets in Afghanistan.
The latest exchange comes amid continuing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border militant activity and accusations that armed groups operate from Afghan territory. The competing accounts of the strikes and casualties remain part of the broader dispute between the two countries.
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