By RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal and RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
March 18, 2024
Afghanistan’s Taliban government on March 18 said Pakistani warplanes bombed “militant hideouts” inside Afghanistan belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), killing at least eight civilians, including three children.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been on the rise since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the U.S.-led forces in August 2021, with Islamabad accusing the radical movement of harboring TTP militants on its territory and allowing them to carry out cross-border attacks in Pakistan.
At “around 3 a.m., Pakistani aircraft bombarded civilian homes” in Afghanistan’s southeastern provinces of Khost and Paktika bordering Pakistan, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Mujahid said the strikes targeted the Barmal district of Paktika and the Sepri district of Khost. He said three women and three children had been killed in Paktika and two women in Khost.
Earlier, Mujahid confirmed witness reports of air strikes, saying in response to a question by RFE/RL, “Yes, there was an air strike.”
Pakistan’s government has not commented on the alleged strikes so far, but Pakistani officials speaking on condition of anonymity have said that the house of Abdullah Shah, one of the TTP commanders reportedly hiding in Afghanistan, was apparently targeted in the attacks in Paktika.
The report could not be immediately confirmed, with Taliban authorities saying they are assessing the information. The TTP said the strikes targeted civilians, denying that Shah’s house had been hit.
An unconfirmed social media post said “multiple” strikes targeted Paktika, Khost, and Kunar regions.
The reported strikes came after seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and 17 others wounded in a militant attack that targeted a sprawling army post in the volatile North Waziristan district near the Afghan border on March 16.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, who attended the funeral of those killed in the attack on March 17, said Islamabad would give “a befitting reply to the terrorists” that perpetrated the attack.
With reporting by AFP and Reuters
Copyright (c) 2024. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
Related
- Pakistani Fighter Planes Bomb ‘Terrorist Sanctuaries’ in Afghanistan
- Taliban foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike
- Taliban: Border forces target military posts along Durand Line in response to airstrikes
- Taliban Says It Strikes Back After Deadly Pakistani Strikes
- Taliban warns Pakistan against repeating airstrikes which left 8 dead
8am: Russians, Chinese, and Iranians, with all their efforts for the formation of “constructive engagement and practical action with the Taliban,” are normalizing and perpetuating terrorism; terrorism that will one day haunt Moscow, Beijing, and Tehran as well. 
8am: The relationship between the Taliban and the media is defined by the interests of this group. During the Taliban’s first emirate, they shut down all visual, audio, and written media outlets, except for one or two Taliban-affiliated outlets like “Voice of Sharia,” to control public opinion. Even those who owned televisions and satellite dishes in their homes were forced to conceal them. In the area where we lived, during the initial period of Taliban rule, only one family, who provided the most lavish gifts and bribes to the governor and his personnel, was allowed to keep their satellite dish installed on their roof and watch television. The rest of the people had their televisions destroyed by the Taliban or had to hide them. Even in recent years, videos have been circulated showing Taliban fighters smashing radios and televisions. Some of their officials consider taking pictures and distributing them as forbidden and label photographers as sinners. However, in practice, this group benefits the most from the media in the country. All state-owned media outlets, whether visual, audio, or written, are under the control of the Taliban. After seizing power, they established several media outlets themselves, understanding the role of media in shaping public opinion and strengthening/weakening power. To reach a wider audience, Taliban media outlets such as Bakhtar News Agency, under the control of this group, are disseminated in Urdu, Arabic, English, and local languages. Additionally, Taliban officials, who theoretically consider photography a major sin, have flooded the media space and social networks with content from their group, including videos, images, texts, and infographics. Therefore, the Taliban’s relationship with the media is friendly as long as they promote the interests of this group, and sometimes they receive support. However, the media can become an enemy of the Taliban, and journalists may end up in prison for seeking the truth and portraying the true image of Afghanistan under Taliban rule, which is not what the Taliban want to be portrayed. 
Tolo News: The Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community has stated that the near-term prospects for regime-threatening resistance in Afghanistan remain low. The annual report reads that, large swathes of the Afghan public being weary of war and fearful of “Taliban” reprisals, and since armed remnants lack strong leadership and external support, the threats to the Islamic Emirate are low. 
8am: Over the past two years, the Taliban have consistently claimed to improve Afghanistan’s economic situation and foster investment opportunities. They have sought to minimize the economic crisis among the populace and the global community by disseminating engineered information. However, the World Bank has reported an economic recession in Afghanistan, attributed to reduced economic activities and ongoing inflation. In its report titled “Afghanistan Economic Monitoring,” the bank disclosed that annual inflation in Afghanistan hit -10.2 percent in January 2024. Coal exports, once touted by the Taliban as a symbol of export growth, have plummeted by 87 percent. Nonetheless, economic experts argue that under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has not achieved competitive export levels. They maintain that coal exports to Pakistan, itself engulfed in an economic crisis, cannot alleviate the country’s backwardness, unemployment, and poverty. According to them, resolving the economic recession requires a conducive investment environment, contingent upon a legitimate and authoritative political framework with both domestic and international recognition. 
Tolo News: The head of Tajikistan’s Drug Control Agency stated that drugs from the large reserves in northern Afghanistan are being trafficked to Central Asian countries and the European Union. “The threat to Central Asian countries, especially those bordering Afghanistan, is gradually increasing because the methamphetamine discovered in the region is produced in Afghanistan,” said Zafar Samad, the head of Tajikistan’s Anti-Drug Agency.