Pakistan appears to be stepping up its operations against armed groups in Afghanistan in the border region between the two countries.
According to the Afghan Taliban regime, Pakistan has killed 46 people in airstrikes. Spokesman Hamdullah Fitratin according to the majority of the dead are women and children.
Pakistani security sources told the AP news agency a little earlier that the aim of the operation is to clear the Paktika border area of armed groups and stop the training of Afghan fighters there. Gunmen from both sides move across the border.
The Taliban movement, which holds power in Afghanistan, also has support in Pakistan. A representative of TTP, a Pakistani fraternal organization that supports the extreme Islamist regime, also told about dozens of dead.
Pakistan has not confirmed the civilian deaths. It says it has killed 13 gunmen in South Waziristan, also in the border region.
The excitement is building
In Afghanistan, isolated by the international community, the Taliban movement has been accused of serious human rights violations. Girls are prohibited from studying after elementary school and women are not allowed to work.
The Taliban has threatened to retaliate against Pakistan’s air force strikes. According to the Taliban, Pakistan killed civilians.
The relations between the countries seem to be tightening. Pakistan announces that Taliban attacks have increased during the rest of the year on the Pakistani side. The Pakistani military announced that TTP gunmen killed a Pakistani soldier at a checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of not doing enough to curb attacks by armed groups operating in the border region. Afghanistan has denied the claim. The Taliban has stated that it will not allow attacks on any country.
AP, Reuters