India strongly condemns Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan: 'Such aggression goes against regional peace' | India News

India on Tuesday condemned Pakistan’s air strikes on border areas of Afghanistan that resulted in civilian casualties, and said Islamabad’s acts of “aggression” against a sovereign neighbour would impact regional peace and security.The external affairs ministry’s response to the Pakistani attacks was in line with New Delhi’s stance of consistently backing Kabul during a flare-up of regional tensions. Taliban officials said Pakistan’s air strikes killed three civilians and injured four more, and hit structures such as houses and shops.“We strongly condemn the attacks from Pakistan, the air strikes which were launched on Afghanistan in Kunar and Paktika provinces. In these air strikes, several civilians have been killed,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a regular media briefing.ALSO READ | Human rights group accuses Pakistan of using courts to silence Baloch voices“Such instances of aggression against a sovereign neighbour is something that goes against regional peace and security; it vitiates regional peace and security. And it is yet another occasion of aggression from the Pakistani side,” Jaiswal said.“We also reaffirm our strong [and] steadfast support for Afghanistan, for their independence, sovereignty [and] territorial integrity, as also for the welfare and well-being of their people,” he said.Jaiswal also offered India’s condolences for the loss of life in Afghanistan, and hoped that those injured in the attacks will recover soon. Pakistani airstrikes hit AfghanistanPakistan’s air strikes, which were apparently carried out in retaliation for a militant attack on a police facility in northwestern Pakistan on Friday that killed 24 people, shattered nearly three months of relative calm. Chief Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Kabul “will respond appropriately to this aggression”.Pakistan’s information ministry claimed 28 militants were killed in the air strikes, but this was dismissed by Taliban officials, who said all the casualties were civilians.Ties between the former allies have been strained for several ⁠years, and a conflict that escalated in February resulted in the death of hundreds in air strikes, drone attacks and artillery barrages. The Taliban regime, which has rejected Islamabad’s allegations that it harbours anti-Pakistan groups, summoned the Pakistani chargé d’affaires in Kabul and handed him a protest note.Afghanistan had launched drones against Pakistan in July. The single worst incident occurred in March, when more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul.India on Pak's 'defeat terrorism' remarkJaiswal responded to another on Bangladesh Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir’s remarks about Islamabad’s determination to defeat terrorism by saying the Pakistani side needs to take “credible action” against terror.“I would say that Pakistan needs to demonstrate action and firm commitment and they must take credible action against cross-border terrorism before the world believes what they say they are going to do,” Jaiswal said.