Cross-border fury intensified as UNAMA documented 13 Afghan civilian deaths from Pakistani airstrikes in Nangarhar and Paktika. Women and children numbered among the casualties, spotlighting civilian perils in the enduring frontier feud.
Detailed in a UNAMA report via Khama Press, the February 21-22 nocturnal operations wounded seven more. Nangarhar’s Behsud and Khogyani districts absorbed direct hits on populated locales. Paktika saw devastation at Bermal’s school-mosque complex and Orgun residence.
The UN body issued a stern condemnation, beseeching all actors to honor international humanitarian mandates and civilian sanctity. Transparency in investigations and ramped-up security were non-negotiables.
Context: Recent months brewed bad blood. Kabul’s security council indicted Pakistan’s forces for February 22 residential assaults, claiming mass civilian tolls from madrasa and home strikes.
Deeming it sovereignty sabotage antithetical to law, diplomacy, and Islam, they affirmed protection as religious-national imperative, hinting at measured reprisal. ‘These betray intel voids in Pakistan’s ranks,’ they asserted, ‘repetitions can’t conceal chronic failings.’
With stakes soaring, the world urges restraint. Sustainable peace demands addressing root grievances through negotiation, not escalation.