The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul and handed him a formal protest following Pakistani airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Paktika that Afghan authorities said killed three civilians and wounded four others.

The ministry condemned the strikes as a violation of Afghanistan’s airspace, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and accused Pakistani forces of targeting civilian areas and facilities.

According to Afghan authorities, the strikes took place early Monday in Nurgal district of Kunar and Barmal district of Paktika. In Kunar, an airstrike hit a residential house, killing three members of the same family and injuring four others, Afghan officials said. In Paktika, a shop and an unoccupied house were reportedly damaged, with no casualties reported there.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) separately confirmed that at least three civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed and four others wounded in apparent airstrikes in Kunar. The UN mission called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and take measures to protect civilians.

Pakistan, meanwhile, said its forces had targeted militant positions inside Afghanistan. Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the strikes hit three locations and killed 28 militants, including several suicide bombers. Islamabad has accused militant groups operating from Afghan territory of carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.

The competing accounts could not immediately be independently reconciled.

Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry rejected claims that recent security incidents inside Pakistan originated from Afghan territory.

The ministry said such allegations were unfounded and accused Islamabad of using them to justify military action against Afghanistan and shift attention away from its own security and political challenges.

Kabul urged Pakistan to address what it described as the underlying causes of its domestic security problems rather than attributing them to neighboring countries.

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities have repeatedly denied Pakistani accusations that they shelter or support the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group that has carried out attacks inside Pakistan. Islamabad maintains that militant groups based in Afghanistan pose a security threat to Pakistan, while Kabul says Pakistan’s internal militancy is an issue that should be addressed domestically.

Monday’s strikes represent a renewed escalation in relations between Kabul and Islamabad following months of tensions and cross-border violence.

The latest attacks came after a series of deadly incidents in Pakistan, including an attack on a police facility in Kohat and a clash in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that killed Pakistani security personnel. Pakistani authorities have linked the violence to militant groups they say operate from or receive support in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has rejected those allegations and warned against the use of military force to resolve disputes between the two neighboring countries.

The latest episode also comes after earlier Pakistani strikes inside Afghanistan this year that caused significant civilian casualties. UNAMA reported that airstrikes in Paktya, Paktika and Kunar on June 28 killed at least 28 civilians and wounded 49 others, with women and children among the victims.

The renewed hostilities have raised concerns about further cross-border violence and the impact on civilians living in Afghanistan’s eastern border provinces. (ILKHA)