KARACHI: Afghan authorities in Kabul said on Wednesday they summoned the Pakistani chargé d’affaires after reported airstrikes by Pakistan in Paktika province that killed at least 46 people, warning such actions undermined bilateral trust and highlighting Afghanistan’s history of defending its sovereignty against major global powers.

The airstrikes reportedly targeted Afghanistan’s eastern district of Bermal, days after Pakistan claimed it thwarted a cross-border incursion by a banned militant network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), whose leadership is said to be based on Afghan soil.

The incident comes amid escalating militant attacks in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, with TTP recently claiming responsibility for an overnight raid on a Pakistani military outpost that killed 16 soldiers.

Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of facilitating such attacks, a charge denied by Kabul.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) summoned the Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul this afternoon and delivered a letter of strong protest regarding the bombing by Pakistani military aircraft near the Durand Line, in the Bermal district of Paktika province, Afghanistan,” the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which has a long history of struggle to defend the country against great powers, will never accept the violation of the nation’s sovereignty and is resolutely prepared to defend the country’s independence and territorial integrity,” it added.

The reported airstrikes coincided with a visit to Kabul by Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, to discuss trade and regional ties.

During the visit, Sadiq met Afghanistan’s acting interior minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani, to offer condolences over the Dec. 11 killing of his uncle, Khalil Haqqani, in a suicide bombing claimed by Daesh.

Sadiq also held talks with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, describing the discussions as “wide-ranging” and focused on strengthening cooperation and fostering peace.

The Afghan foreign ministry maintained that while representatives of Pakistan’s civilian government were engaged in dialogue with Afghan officials in Kabul, the actions of Pakistani military aimed “to create distrust between the two countries.”

“Furthermore, it was made clear to the Pakistani side that the protection of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty is a red line for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and such irresponsible actions will undoubtedly have consequences,” it continued.

Earlier this year in March, airstrikes by Pakistan’s military in Afghan border regions prompted skirmishes on the frontier.

No statement has yet been issued by Pakistan’s military or foreign office regarding the strikes.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday called for an end to violence in Bethlehem, the Palestinian city venerated by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus and which now sits in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Since the 1967 war between Israel and neighboring Arab countries, Israel has occupied the West Bank, which Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state. Israel has built Jewish settlements across the territory and several of its ministers live in settlements and favor their expansion.
Violence has surged across the hilly land since the start of the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza in October last year. Hundreds of Palestinians — including suspected armed fighters, stone-throwing youths and civilian bystanders — have died in clashes with Israeli security forces, while dozens of Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks, Israeli authorities say.
“The place [Bethlehem] where Prophet Isa [Jesus] was born, his birthplace, today there is a raging market of bloodshed and violence there,” Sharif said as he addressed a church service in Islamabad.
“I believe that on this occasion [of Christmas], wherever in the entire world that Christians live, we should try our best to end this bloodshed in Palestine. And Prophet Isa, who was a peace messenger, for the success of his mission, we need war to end there.”
The West Bank has been transformed by the rapid growth of Jewish settlements over the past two years, with strident settlers pushing to impose Israeli sovereignty on the area.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said on X in October that since the start of the Gaza conflict more than 120,000 firearms had been distributed to Israeli settlers to protect themselves.