Pakistan’s military rejects UN report alleging hundreds of civilian deaths in strikes on Afghanistan

This is a locator map for Pakistan with its capital, Islamabad, and the Kashmir region. (AP Photo) By MUNIR AHMED Updated 6:15 PM MESZ, July 31, 2026 Leer en español Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Islamabad (AP) — Pakistan’s military on Friday rejected as “baseless” a recent U.N. report that said Pakistani cross-border military operations killed nearly 500 civilians and wounded over 1,000 in neighboring Afghanistan between October and June. At a televised news conference, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan had targeted only hideouts and infrastructure used by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Taliban-Pakistan" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="124959" data-entity-type="organization">Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, during that period, and said those killed in the strikes were militants. He said the operations were carried out in self-defense to protect the lives of people in Pakistan. Join millions who rely on The Associated Press for fast, accurate, nonpartisan reporting. Create a free account Sign in to existing account How we use your information Help with registration Continue without registering Chaudhry questioned recently released reports by the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, and Amnesty International, saying they relied largely on accounts from Afghans despite what he described as restrictions on freedom of expression under Taliban rule. He also accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan and said international rights organizations had failed to document such violence. “These are double standards,” Chaudhry said, asking how many times rights groups had documented civilian casualties caused by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes during the war in Afghanistan. Chaudhry’s remarks came days after UNAMA, in a report on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, said it had documented 499 civilians killed and 1,216 wounded in fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan despite international efforts to reduce tensions. Months of fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan have killed nearly 500 Afghan civilians, UN says 1 MIN READ Pakistani troops kill 24 militants in raids as violence escalates in region near Afghanistan 1 MIN READ Pakistan rejects Amnesty call for war crimes probe into Kabul airstrike 1 MIN READ Pakistan and Afghanistan have exchanged fire intermittently for months, but tensions escalated sharply in February, when Afghan forces launched a cross-border raid into Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Islamabad later declared it was in “open war.” Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, especially the Pakistani Taliban. The group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban, which has ruled Afghanistan since it returned to power in the country in 2021 amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Afghanistan denies providing sanctuary to militants. In the deadliest reported attack in the recent fighting, a Pakistani airstrike struck a drug-treatment center in the Afghan capital Kabul in March, killing hundreds of civilians. Amnesty International said last week the bombing should be investigated as a possible war crime. Chaudhry defended the strikes, saying Pakistan had carried out operations in Kabul and elsewhere with precision to target militant infrastructure supporting attacks inside Pakistan. He said Pakistan is also continuing operations inside the country against “Khawarij,” a term Pakistan uses for TTP and affiliated groups. According to Chaudhry, Pakistan has recorded 3,145 “terrorism incidents” since January. He said Pakistan had killed 2,084 militants since January, while 819 Pakistanis, including soldiers, police officers and civilians, had been killed. He said security forces had carried out 40,348 intelligence-based operations across the country during the same period. Chaudhry also said Afghanistan-based militants had carried out 28 suicide attacks in Pakistan since January and alleged that most were carried out by Afghan nationals or people associated with Afghanistan’s security forces. He alleged that drug addicts had been recruited to carry out suicide bombings. “Not every drug addict is a terrorist, but every suicide bomber was a drug addict,” he said. Chaudhry said Pakistan launched a new counterterrorism operation earlier this year following a surge in militant violence and would continue the campaign. “We will continue these operations,” he said, adding that Pakistan was winning the fight against terrorism and, “God willing, we will win.” He also accused the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and TTP of directing attacks in Pakistan’s insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province from Afghanistan. Balochistan has long faced a separatist insurgency led by BLA that accuses the government of discrimination and exploiting the province’s natural resources. The government denies the allegations.