Pakistan Military Rejects UN Report Alleging Hundreds of Civilian Deaths in Afghanistan Strikes

Pakistan's military has vehemently denied a United Nations report that claimed nearly 500 civilians were killed and over 1,000 wounded in Pakistani cross-border operations in Afghanistan between October and June.

Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry asserted at a press conference that Pakistan's operations targeted only hideouts and infrastructure used by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He stated that those killed were militants and that the operations were conducted in self-defense to protect Pakistani lives.

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baseless

Chaudhry questioned the credibility of reports from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Amnesty International, suggesting they relied on accounts from Afghans under Taliban rule, where freedom of expression is restricted. He accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of harboring militants responsible for attacks within Pakistan and criticized international rights groups for allegedly ignoring such violence.

"These are double standards," Chaudhry remarked, questioning the number of times rights groups have documented civilian casualties from U.S.-led coalition airstrikes during the war in Afghanistan. Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of sheltering militants, a claim Afghanistan denies. The Pakistani military maintains it is also conducting operations within Pakistan against TTP and affiliated groups, reporting 3,145 terrorism incidents and the killing of 2,084 militants since January.

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These are double standards