Death toll in Pakistani airstrikes rises to 47, Taliban warns of consequences

The death toll from airstrikes by the Pakistani military on targets in eastern Afghanistan has risen to at least 47, according to local officials, sparking angry protests and simmering tensions.

Afghan officials on Sunday said the pre-dawn airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Khost and Kunar, bordering Pakistan, on Saturday had killed 47 people, fearing that the death toll could mount.

"Forty-one civilians, mainly women, and children, were killed and 22 others were wounded in airstrikes by Pakistani forces near the Durand line in Khost province," Shabir Ahmad Osmani, director of information and culture in Khost, was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

Two other officials confirmed the death toll in Khost, which borders Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to the east, while one official confirmed that six people were killed in Kunar, which shares a 280 km border with Pakistan.

TOLO News, Afghanistan's largest private TV channel, aired footage of the damage caused by airstrikes in Khost, showing images of children’s lifeless bodies.

The channel also showed large-scale protests in Khost and other Afghan provinces over the weekend, with demonstrators shouting anti-Pakistan slogans.

The Pakistani military has not commented on the attacks so far, which is likely to escalate tensions between the two neighboring countries.

Taliban warn Pakistan of 'bad consequences' after rocket attacks

The Taliban spokesman has slammed Pakistan for allegedly launching deadly attacks on Afghanistan.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid in a tweet urged Pakistan “not to test the patience of Afghans on such issues and not to repeat the same mistake again”, warning of what he called “bad consequences.” 

"This is a cruelty and it is paving the way for enmity between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Mujahid said on Saturday. "The Pakistani side should know that if a war starts it will not be in the interest of any side."

In response, Pakistan's foreign office issued a statement, urging the Taliban authorities in Kabul to take “stern actions” against armed fighters launching attacks against Pakistan from Afghan soil.

“Terrorists are using Afghan soil with impunity to carry out activities inside Pakistan,” said the statement, referring to recent cross-border attacks emanating from the Afghan territory.

"Unfortunately, elements of banned terrorist groups in the border region, including TTP, have continued to attack Pakistan's border security posts, resulting in the martyrdom of several Pakistani troops," it added.

Since the Taliban in a dramatic fashion swept back to power in Afghanistan last August, tensions between the group and Islamabad have grown sharply.

Pakistani authorities allege that the Taliban are allowing the Afghan territory to be used by militant groups to attack Pakistan. The group denies the charges but is infuriated over the construction of a fence by Pakistan along the 2,700-km border with Afghanistan, which has long been a bone of contention between the two sides.

Pakistan has been erecting the fencing to prevent the infiltration of militants from Afghanistan. Taliban, however, doesn’t recognize the border, a line adopted by successive governments in Kabul over the years. The protracted border dispute threatens to turn allies into arch-foes.

Amid growing tension between the two sides over the border fencing, there has also been an alarming uptick in violence with dozens of military personnel killed in attacks on Pakistani army outposts along the border with Afghanistan in recent months.

Most of these attacks have been claimed by the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who has felt emboldened by the Afghan Taliban’s dramatic takeover in Kabul.

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