Pakistan rejects Taliban claims and has vowed to keep taking necessary steps to defend the country against terrorism from Afghan soil, after Afghanistan’s Taliban government alleged civilian casualties from Pakistani counter-terrorism operations. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the civilian-casualty allegations as unfounded and unverified, saying its operations were a last resort in self-defence, proportionate, and aimed at militants and their facilities.
FAKTA
- Trigger: the Taliban government alleged civilian casualties from Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.
- Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called the allegations unfounded and unverified, saying its operations were a last resort, an exercise of self-defence, and proportionate, with precautions taken to distinguish targets.
- Groups named: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), termed Fitna al-Khawarij by Islamabad, and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), termed Fitna al-Hindustan, accused of operating from Afghan territory.
- Ministry figure: more than 3,500 casualties from such attacks in 2026, according to the ministry, citing UN bodies and monitoring teams on militant presence in Afghanistan.
- Appeal: Islamabad urged the international community to hold the Taliban government accountable under relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
- Pakistan condemned Houthi missile attacks reported on October 24 around Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, reaffirming solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan rejects Taliban claims over civilian casualties
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said its counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan were a last resort in self-defence and proportionate. The ministry said the operations were aimed at militants and their logistical facilities, and that precautions were taken to distinguish targets, rejecting the claim that civilians were the object of the strikes.
Kabul has disputed Pakistan’s account of such operations, with Taliban officials giving sharply different accounts of the targets and casualty scale in past strikes — a disagreement that has fuelled the wider deterioration in relations between the neighbours.
Groups named and the 2026 casualty toll
According to the ministry, the groups it named — the TTP and the BLA, labelled Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan by Islamabad — plan, finance, support and conduct attacks against Pakistan from Afghan territory, enjoying protection or freedom of movement there. The ministry put the toll from such attacks in 2026 at more than 3,500 casualties, pointing to UN bodies and monitoring teams documenting militant groups in Afghanistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused militant groups of using Afghan territory for cross-border attacks, an allegation Kabul denies, while Pakistan’s strikes this year on what it called militant targets have been contested by the Taliban authorities.
Appeal to the international community
Pakistan urged the international community to hold the Taliban government accountable under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and to press it to stop militant groups using Afghan territory against neighbours. The ministry vowed that Pakistan would keep taking necessary steps to protect its sovereignty, territorial integrity, citizens and security forces.
In the same statement, Pakistan condemned Houthi missile attacks reported on October 24 around Mecca and Medina as violations of Saudi sovereignty and a disregard for the holy sites and civilian safety, reaffirming solidarity with Saudi Arabia.
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