In a grim escalation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, UNAMA has verified that 13 civilians perished in Pakistani airstrikes across Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. Among the dead were vulnerable women and children, underscoring the human cost of regional hostilities.
The assaults unfolded late on February 21-22, hammering Behsud and Khogyani in Nangarhar, where homes turned into rubble. Seven survivors grapple with injuries. In Paktika, precision strikes—or lack thereof—demolished a school and mosque in Bermal, while a family home in Orgun was obliterated.
UNAMA’s sharp rebuke demanded adherence to global laws safeguarding non-combatants, pushing for an impartial probe and bolstered site protections. This comes amid rising frictions, with Afghanistan’s security apparatus pointing fingers at Pakistan for sovereignty-shattering bombings.
The ministry decried hits on a madrasa and residences, slaying innocents en masse. ‘This is no mere incursion but a desecration of our independence, a spit on legal and ethical codes,’ officials stated, promising retribution ‘with wisdom and timing.’
They framed repeated violations as glaring proof of adversary intel shortcomings, unmaskable by repetition. With history of tit-for-tat actions, stakeholders brace for fallout. Diplomacy remains the sole path to peace, experts say, as families mourn and leaders posture.