The Pakistan Army has rejected a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Afghan civilians in Pakistan’s cross-border operations, describing the findings as “baseless.” Pakistani officials maintained that the operations targeted only the hideouts, training facilities, and positions of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that from October 2025 through the end of June 2026, Pakistani forces had conducted operations exclusively against infrastructure and positions used by the TTP. He described the operations as an exercise of Pakistan’s “right of self-defense” aimed at protecting its citizens.
The military spokesperson also claimed that those killed in the strikes were members of armed groups. He questioned the credibility of reports issued by UNAMA and Amnesty International, arguing that they were largely based on accounts from sources inside Afghanistan who, he said, operate under severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
Chaudhry further asserted that the reports failed to adequately address deadly attacks carried out by militant groups against Pakistan, as well as airstrikes conducted by foreign forces during the war in Afghanistan. According to him, this omission has resulted in a one-sided portrayal of the region’s security situation.
His remarks came after UNAMA, in its latest report, stated that between October 2025 and the end of June 2026, at least 499 civilians were killed and 1,216 others injured inside Afghanistan as a result of airstrikes, artillery shelling, and cross-border clashes between Pakistan and the Taliban.
UNAMA said that women and children accounted for a significant proportion of the casualties. The mission also reported that, in some cases, individuals who went to the scene to provide emergency assistance and evacuate the wounded were struck in subsequent attacks.
According to the report, one of the deadliest incidents occurred on June 28 in Paktia province. In that attack, two successive strikes on a residential building killed at least 22 people, including five children, and injured another 185.
UNAMA stressed that, under international humanitarian law, all parties to the conflict are obligated to protect civilians and humanitarian responders and to refrain from carrying out attacks that may result in civilian casualties.
Pakistan has consistently accused the Afghan Taliban of providing safe havens for members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, an allegation the Taliban authorities deny. Meanwhile, Islamabad has stated that it will continue conducting cross-border operations against the group’s positions inside Afghanistan.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
