India on Monday condemned Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan civilians in the Paktika province of Afghanistan last month, adding that it is an old practice of Islamabad to blame neighbours for "its own internal failures".
Pakistan had billed the air strikes in Afghanistan in the second fortnight of December as "operations in border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terrorist groups".
External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal condemned Pakistan's airstrikes and noted the Afghan spokesman’s response while responding to queries on the airstrikes, clearly picking a side in this quarrel between Islamabad and Kabul over reining in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a terror group which has targetted Pakistan for years now.
"We have noted the media reports on airstrikes on Afghan civilians, including women and children, in which several precious lives have been lost. We unequivocally condemn any attack on innocent civilians. It is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. We have also noted the response of an Afghan spokesperson in this regard," Jaiswal said.
According to the Afghan Taliban, at least 46 people were killed in Pakistan’s airstrikes in Paktika. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it had "received credible reports that dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed in airstrikes by Pakistan's military forces in Paktika province".
The Afghan Taliban regime had summoned the Pakistani Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistan embassy in Kabul "to deliver a strong protest note regarding the airstrikes conducted by Pakistani military jets in the Barmal district of Paktika province near the theoretical Durand Line".
Successive Afghan governments have refused to recognise the Durand Line which is internationally recognised as the international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Drawing attention to Afghanistan's history of standing up to major powers — it is known as the "graveyard of empires" — the Afghan foreign ministry said: "The Pakistani side has been clearly informed that protecting Afghanistan's national sovereignty is a red line for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and such actions are viewed highly irresponsible and will inevitably bear repercussions."
India-US nuclear ties
The US is finalising necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between leading Indian and American companies, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday hours after he held separate talks with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval.
"So today I can announce that the US is now finalising the necessary steps to remove long-standing regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and US companies," Sullivan said.