‘Assault On Sovereignty’: India Raps Pakistan Over Airstrikes Targeting Kabul, Calls Attack ‘Blatant Aggression’

New Delhi: India on Monday strongly condemned Pakistan’s reported airstrikes on Afghan territory, calling the operation a “blatant act of aggression” and an assault on Afghanistan’s sovereignty. In a sharply worded response, New Delhi said that such cross-border military action violates international norms and undermines regional stability. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the attacks had caused several civilian casualties, including women and children, and called the action a direct threat to stability across South Asia.

In its statement, New Delhi expressed solidarity with the Afghan people and extended condolences to bereaved families, while wishing a speedy recovery to those injured. “India strongly condemns Pakistan's air-strikes on Afghan territory that have resulted in several civilian casualties, including women and children. This blatant act of aggression by Pakistan is an assault on Afghanistan's sovereignty and a direct threat to regional peace and stability,” the MEA said.

The condemnation is among India’s sharpest responses to recent tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which have intensified after Islamabad launched what it described as counter-militancy operations. India accused Pakistan of trying to deflect attention from its own domestic security problems by resorting to military action beyond its frontiers, calling it part of a “persistent pattern of reckless behaviour”.

‘Externalising Internal Failures’

The MEA stressed that the strikes reflected Islamabad’s “futile attempt to externalise internal failures through desperate acts of violence beyond its borders". The remarks came after Pakistan confirmed conducting the strikes, bizarrely terming it an intelligence-based ground operation near the frontier, followed by “calibrated strikes” on alleged militant infrastructure inside Afghanistan.

Islamabad stated that the operation was aimed at hideouts used by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), groups, holding them responsible for a string of deadly attacks within Pakistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that security forces had carried out a “well-planned intelligence-based ground operation” alongside aerial strikes in the border zone.

Pakistan claimed that at least 29 militants were killed during the offensive, including 4 in a ground assault in Bajaur district, before launching precision strikes on 3 suspected militant sites in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces. However, India emphasised that such actions could not justify the loss of civilian life and the infringement of another nation’s sovereignty.

Kabul Reports 36 Civilians Killed

Meanwhile, the Afghan administration rejected Pakistan’s version of events, accusing the Pakistani military of hitting civilian homes rather than militant positions. According to Kabul, Pakistani fighter jets struck residential areas overnight, killing at least 36 civilians and injuring 163 others. The deputy spokesperson of the Taliban-led Afghan government, Hamdullah Fitrat, said that 3 residential houses were completely destroyed in the strikes.

In Mandokhail Village, Chamkani District of Paktia Province, “Pakistani fighter jets bombed a civilian residence. As a result, one elderly man and one child from the household were martyred, while other members of the family sustained injuries,” Fitrat said, while providing a district-wise account of the damage. A second strike in the same area allegedly targeted people who had gathered to rescue survivors. The Afghan officials confirmed that the two attacks together left 30 civilians dead and scores wounded.

In Walust Village, Giyan District of Paktika Province, another air strike reportedly hit a villager’s residence, killing 6 civilians, most of them women and children. A third strike was reported in Barolo Village, Manogai District of Kunar Province, where the Afghan officials said a residential building was damaged. Kabul maintained that these were civilian sites and has condemned the operations as violations of Afghan sovereignty.

India Reiterates Support For Afghanistan

Expressing its position, the MEA said, “India conveys its condolences to Afghan families that have lost loved ones, prays for early recovery of those injured and reiterates its unwavering support for Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.” 

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban administration of harbouring TTP fighters responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation Kabul consistently denies. The latest military action followed a wave of terrorist violence, including an assault on the Rangers’ regional headquarters in Karachi a day earlier that killed 3 soldiers. The security forces later killed 3 attackers and arrested another injured suspect, whom the Pakistani military identified as an Afghan national. Following the deadly attack, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar claimed responsibility.