Pakistan Rejects UNAMA Report on Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan as ‘Baseless’
DID Press: Pakistan’s military has rejected a recent UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) report documenting civilian casualties from Pakistani cross-border operations, calling the findings “baseless” and insisting that its military actions have targeted only militant positions linked to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, military operations conducted between October 2025 and the end of June 2026 were directed exclusively against TTP hideouts, training facilities and operational infrastructure. He said all individuals killed during the operations were militants and stressed that no civilian sites had been deliberately targeted.
Chaudhry said the operations were carried out under Pakistan’s right to self-defence and questioned the credibility of reports published by UNAMA and Amnesty International, arguing that they rely heavily on sources operating inside Afghanistan under significant restrictions.
The remarks came after UNAMA reported that at least 499 civilians were killed and 1,216 injured between October 2025 and the end of June 2026 in Pakistani airstrikes, artillery fire and cross-border clashes involving Taliban forces. The UN mission said the casualties included significant numbers of women and children and documented incidents in which individuals responding to an initial strike were reportedly hit in subsequent attacks.
UNAMA identified one of the deadliest incidents as a 28 June strike in Paktia Province, where two consecutive attacks on a residential building reportedly killed at least 22 people, including five children, and injured 185 others. The mission reiterated that all parties to the conflict are obligated under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and humanitarian responders and to avoid attacks likely to cause civilian harm.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration of allowing TTP fighters to operate from Afghan territory, an allegation the Taliban denies. Despite growing international scrutiny, Islamabad has maintained that cross-border military operations will continue as long as it considers security threats to persist.