India on December 6 unequivocally condemned Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan and said it is Islamabad's old practice to blame its neighbours for its internal failures, PTI reported.
Pakistan carried out airstrikes in certain areas in Afghanistan in what it said was aimed at targeting some terrorist hideouts.
"We have noted the media reports on airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children, in which several precious lives have been lost. We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"It is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. We have also noted the response of an Afghan spokesperson in this regard," he said.
Pakistani Airstrike On Afghanistan
In an unusual series of airstrikes on December 24, Pakistan targeted several suspected hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan, killing at least 51 people, including women and children. The strikes took place in the mountainous region of Paktika province, near the border with Pakistan. Seven villages were affected, with the town of Laman particularly hard hit, where five members of one family lost their lives.
Following the attack, tensions along the border rose, with the Taliban warning of potential retaliation for what they called Pakistani aggression.
"Afghanistan considers this brutal act a blatant violation of all international principles and an obvious act of aggression," Enayatullah Khowrazmi, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defence, said in a statement. "The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered."
Following this, security officials from both countries reported sporadic fighting between border forces along Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Afghanistan's Khost province.
With inputs from PTI.
