Pakistani airstrikes kill five in Kabul; 20,000 families displaced in Kandahar

At least five Afghans were killed and dozens injured in Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul, while 20,000 families fled Kandahar’s Spin Boldak after fresh cross-border clashes. Three Afghan cricketers also died in a strike in Paktika, prompting Doha-mediated peace talks.

Kabul: At least five Afghans were killed and dozens of others were injured in recent Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul, local media reported on Saturday.

Several of the injured are reportedly undergoing treatment at Emergency Hospital in the Afghan capital, where doctors said nearly 40 wounded people were brought in following the airstrikes.

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According to Zabiullah, one of the doctors at Emergency Hospital, some patients were in critical condition and receiving intensive care.

“We were sitting in the car when the plane came and attacked; after that, I don’t remember anything. I was half-conscious, and when I opened my eyes, I was already taken to the hospital, and one of my hands had been amputated,” Afghan media outlet TOLO news quoted one of the victims, 17-year-old Ahmad Wali, as saying.

Mawludin, another victim, describing the horrific attack, said, “When the explosion happened, glass fell on me from above. My friends pulled me out, but I wasn’t fully conscious. When I got outside, I saw the situation was terrifying; everything was dark, and there was dust everywhere. Everyone, old and young, was in a terrible condition.”

Following clashes between Afghan border forces and Pakistani troops, around 20,000 families have been displaced from Spin Boldak city in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, according to local officials

They added that these families were forced to flee due to Pakistan’s indiscriminate bombings and have taken shelter in deserts and other areas lacking basic living facilities.

“The Pakistani side carried out brutal bombings in densely populated areas of Spin Boldak. As a result, 20,000 families were displaced, and we are working to assist them,” TOLO news quoted Nematullah Olfat, deputy head of the Kandahar Department of Refugees and Repatriation, as saying.

Meanwhile, the Taliban and Pakistani representatives are set to hold talks in Doha, mediated by Qatar, after days of deadly cross-border clashes, Pakistani daily Dawn reported on Saturday.

The meeting follows after Pakistan carried out multiple airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province on Friday, prompting Kabul to accuse Islamabad of violating the fragile ceasefire agreement between the two countries.

During the Pakistani airstrike in Paktika, three Afghan cricketers were killed, as confirmed by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

The players had travelled from Urgun to Sharana, near the Pakistan border, to participate in a friendly cricket match.

The ACB identified the deceased players as Kabeer, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, adding that five other civilians also lost their lives in the strike.