The Foreign Office (FO) on Saturday strongly criticised a social media post by British Special Representative for Afghanistan Richard Lindsay regarding developments along the Pak-Afghan border, stating that the remarks were “devoid of a deeper understanding of the situation”.
A day earlier, Lindsay had shared a post by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on X, which claimed it had documented “tens of civilians killed or injured” in strikes in eastern Afghanistan, including at a university. Reacting to the situation, Lindsay expressed concern over continued violence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, specifically mentioning strikes in Kunar. He emphasised the need to protect civilians, avoid escalation, and pursue dialogue and restraint, including during meetings held in Afghanistan this week.
Earlier in the week, Pakistan’s information ministry had already dismissed Afghan media reports alleging that Pakistani forces had targeted a university and residential areas in Kunar province.
Responding to media queries on Saturday, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi rejected Lindsay’s remarks, calling them one-sided and lacking a comprehensive understanding of the border situation. He stressed that cross-border aggression and infiltration attempts by militants from the Afghan side had continued unabated, despite Pakistan’s goodwill gesture of announcing a temporary pause in March 2026.
Andrabi recalled that Pakistan had launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq on February 26 against the Afghan Taliban and militants operating from Afghan territory, following unprovoked cross-border attacks. Although the operation was temporarily paused on March 18 at the request of “brotherly Islamic countries,” it was resumed on March 26 with the commitment to continue until its objectives were achieved.
He further stated that since the announcement of the pause, indiscriminate cross-border attacks by the Afghan Taliban and terrorist activities by Indian proxies supported by them had led to the martyrdom of 52 civilians and left 84 others injured inside Pakistan. Despite this, Pakistan had exercised restraint while responding effectively by targeting Afghan Taliban positions and terrorist infrastructure with precision, and by foiling multiple infiltration attempts.
The FO spokesperson also rejected Afghan claims of civilian casualties resulting from Pakistan’s actions, asserting that such allegations lacked credible evidence. He added that remarks like Lindsay’s, which fail to address the root causes of terrorism, do not present a balanced or objective perspective. Andrabi urged for a better understanding of regional dynamics, Pakistan’s principled stance, and the sacrifices made by its people in the fight against terrorism.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar condemned a recent surge in Afghan Taliban attacks targeting civilians in border districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He described these attacks as “unacceptable, insidious and reflective of their barbaric nature towards human life”.
Tarar stated that after facing defeats on the ground at the hands of Pakistan’s security forces, militants had resorted to targeting civilian areas, which he termed both despicable and indicative of the regime’s low moral standing. He cited figures from the Bajaur deputy commissioner regarding civilian casualties and noted that three civilians playing cricket were injured in a quadcopter attack carried out by Fitna al Khawarij — a term used by the state for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
He further criticised the Afghan Taliban authorities for making what he called baseless allegations against Pakistan, accusing them of falsely claiming deliberate targeting of civilians. Tarar maintained that Pakistan only targets terrorist infrastructure and consistently shares information with transparency.
Concluding his remarks, the minister emphasised that Pakistan’s fight against militants and their supporters is grounded in truth, principles, honour, resolve and faith, contrasting it with what he described as the duplicity and malign intent of militant groups and their backers.