{"id":135421,"date":"2026-10-26T22:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T17:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=135421"},"modified":"2026-10-26T22:20:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T17:20:18","slug":"pakistan-rejects-afghan-talibans-claims-of-civilian-casualties-in-counterterrorism-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban&#8217;s claims of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected allegations made by the Afghan Taliban government regarding civilian casualties in Islamabad\u2019s counterterrorism campaign in the neighbouring country, maintaining that Pakistan\u2019s conduct always \u201creflected restraint\u201d and the response was \u201cproportionate to the level of threat\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly claimed civilian casualties in Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan; Pakistani authorities have denied the accusations, holding that they target military and terrorist infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recently, a spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed in an <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tolonews.com\/node\/201346\">interview<\/a> with <em>CNN<\/em> that 1,119 Afghan civilians were killed or injured in Pakistani military strikes in Afghanistan since late 2021, according to Afghan media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement issued on Monday, the FO rejected the \u201cbaseless and unsubstantiated\u201d allegations regarding civilian casualties attributed to Pakistan\u2019s counterterrorism operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDisinformation and misleading narratives will neither obscure the threat posed by the terrorist networks operating from Afghan territory nor absolve the Afghan Taliban regime of its responsibility to prevent Afghan soil from being used to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan,\u201d the FO said, adding that attacks emanating from Afghan soil had claimed more than 3,500 casualties in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It further said that various relevant United Nations mechanisms had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2022505\/taliban-support-fuels-deadlier-ttp-attacks-in-pakistan-un\">reported<\/a> the situation as well, and the issue had been raised as a serious concern for the international community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FO noted that the Afghan Taliban continued to \u201cshelter with impunity a large number of terrorist organisations, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and their affiliates, which continue to pose a serious threat to the peace and stability of the region and beyond\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It said that thousands of Pakistani civilians had been martyred in terrorist attacks, which it said were \u201cplanned, financed, supported and carried out\u201d from Afghan soil under the \u201cwatch, patronage and active facilitation\u201d of the Afghan Taliban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo responsible state can remain passive when its civilians and security forces are repeatedly targeted,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It maintained that Pakistan\u2019s actions in response to terrorist attacks had been undertaken in exercise of self-defence, according to the principles of necessity and as a last resort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FO further stated that the actions were \u201cdirected only and exclusively against terrorists and their logistical support bases in Afghanistan\u201d. The statement stressed that Pakistan\u2019s response had been \u201cproportionate to the level of threat\u201d and adhered to the principles of \u201cdistinction and precaution\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe scale and scope of the action reflected restraint, particularly in light of the severity and frequency of terrorist attacks faced by Pakistan. Pakistan rejects any insinuations otherwise,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The FO called on the international community to hold the Afghan Taliban regime accountable for \u201cfailure to uphold obligations\u201d under various international commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPakistan reserves the right to take all necessary measures in order to safeguard its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety and security of Pakistani nationals,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a UN Security Council-mandated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2022505\/taliban-support-fuels-deadlier-ttp-attacks-in-pakistan-un\"><u>monitoring report<\/u><\/a> \u2014 covering the period from Dec 16, 2025 to June 9, 2026 \u2014 the Afg\u00adhan Taliban\u2019s continued support for TTP has contributed to a rise in the frequency and lethality of terrorist attacks in Pakistan, even as Kabul has taken some initial steps to rein in the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained in the past few years as Islamabad continues to voice its concern over cross-border terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Islamabad has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2006316\/pakistan-demands-verifiable-non-reversible-action-by-afghan-taliban-against-terrorists-envoy-tells-unsc\"><u>repeatedly urged<\/u><\/a> the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned TTP, that are used for attacks in Pakistan. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">September witnessed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2037853\/security-forces-respond-to-unprovoked-firing-by-afghan-taliban-along-kurram-border-state-media#:~:text=discussion%2C%E2%80%9D%20Khan%20said.-,Pak%2DAfghan%20tensions,-Ties%20between%20the\"><u>another bout of conflict<\/u><\/a> between the two neighbours, with Pakistan carrying out calibrated airstrikes in the border region in response to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2031031\"><u>terrorist attacks<\/u><\/a> in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was followed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2032066\/\"><u>drone incursions<\/u><\/a> from across the border, which Islamabad said were shot down, and two further <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2033937\/calibrated-air-strikes-target-terrorist-hideouts-at-two-locations-in-afghanistan-info-ministry\"><u>rounds<\/u><\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2032261\/pakistan-conducted-strikes-at-10-locations-in-afghanistan-in-response-to-recent-drone-attacks-info-minister\"><u>retaliatory<\/u><\/a> airstrikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the weekend, the information ministry <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/2039485\">rejected<\/a> former United States envoy Zalmay Khalilzad\u2019s \u201cbaseless and misleading allegations\u201d that Pakistan was \u201carming Afghans to fight the Taliban\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It also rebutted the Afghan Taliban\u2019s stance that it lacked the \u201ccapabilities\u201d to fuel insecurity in other countries and criticised it for resorting to \u201cdiversionary allegations\u201d instead of preventing the use of Afghanistan\u2019s soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected allegations made by the Afghan Taliban government regarding civilian casualties in Islamabad\u2019s counterterrorism campaign in the neighbouring country, maintaining that Pakistan\u2019s conduct always \u201creflected restraint\u201d and the response was \u201cproportionate to the level of threat\u201d. The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly claimed civilian casualties in Pakistani strikes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135421","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban&#039;s claims of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban&#039;s claims of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The Foreign Office (FO) on Monday rejected allegations made by the Afghan Taliban government regarding civilian casualties in Islamabad\u2019s counterterrorism campaign in the neighbouring country, maintaining that Pakistan\u2019s conduct always \u201creflected restraint\u201d and the response was \u201cproportionate to the level of threat\u201d. The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly claimed civilian casualties in Pakistani strikes [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-26T17:20:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-26T17:20:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-670x370-5-9.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"670\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"370\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"humza Jahangir\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/\",\"name\":\"Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban's claims of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations - 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The Afghan Taliban have repeatedly claimed civilian casualties in Pakistani strikes [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/","og_site_name":"Nation","article_published_time":"2026-10-26T17:20:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-26T17:20:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":670,"height":370,"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-670x370-5-9.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"humza Jahangir","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"humza Jahangir","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/","name":"Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban's claims of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations - Nation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-670x370-5-9.png","datePublished":"2026-10-26T17:20:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-26T17:20:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-670x370-5-9.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/image-670x370-5-9.png","width":670,"height":370},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/135421\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban&#8217;s claims of civilian casualties in counterterrorism operations"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/","name":"Nation","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/27efa35fa76e99f3ad7e7397d7332c16","name":"humza Jahangir","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/43feedd99bd6a90080d1621b7e6604364acb673ee979d3ffe5075557c14c68b9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"humza Jahangir"},"url":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/author\/humza\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135421","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135426,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135421\/revisions\/135426"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}