RASC News Agency: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has confirmed reports of at least 20 children killed during recent airstrikes carried out by Pakistan in Paktika province. Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s Regional Director for South Asia, expressed profound concern on Thursday over the tragic incident. “We extend our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones,” Wijesekera stated, underscoring that “children are not, and must never be, targets.” The Taliban, in response, claimed that the airstrikes primarily targeted Waziristani refugees, resulting in 46 fatalities.
Earlier, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) had reported credible evidence of significant civilian casualties, including women and children, in these airstrikes by Pakistan’s military. It is widely known that the Taliban harbor numerous regional and transnational terrorist organizations within Afghanistan. Among these, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) holds the most significant militant presence, benefiting from financial and political support from the Taliban and certain other states. These groups are deployed as tools to destabilize Pakistan’s national security and sovereignty.
Pakistan, once a pivotal supporter and financier of the Taliban during the prolonged Afghanistan conflict, had anticipated that the group’s eventual victory would further its long-standing geopolitical objectives. However, the Taliban’s rise to power defied these expectations. Instead of serving Pakistan’s strategic interests, the Taliban began extending robust support to the TTP, a militant faction that had fought alongside them for two decades. This alliance seeks to establish a rigid, ethnically driven, and medieval regime under the guise of Islamic governance within Pakistan.
After years of failed negotiations with the TTP, Pakistan finally initiated military operations against the group. These airstrikes, however, have also resulted in substantial civilian casualties, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis in the region.
