Kabul: Pakistan’s military has clarified that its recent operations in Kabul targeted terrorist infrastructure, not civilian facilities, as Afghan authorities have claimed. According to Radio Pakistan, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), stated that the focus of the strikes was on ammunition depots, drone storage, and technical support facilities, dismissing allegations of targeting a drug rehabilitation center or hospital.

In an interview with a private news TV channel, Lieutenant General Chaudhry rejected claims from the Afghan Taliban that a hospital was hit, questioning the logic of placing a hospital within a military installation. He accused the Afghan Taliban regime of exploiting drug addicts for suicide bombings and other terrorist activities and suggested that the individuals present at the site were likely being trained for such purposes. Chaudhry emphasized that Pakistan’s operations have not targeted any civilian facilities, with all 81 airstrikes inside Afghanistan aimed solely at terrorist support infrastructure.

Chaudhry underscored the precision of the strikes, noting that precision-guided munitions were employed to minimize collateral damage. He reaffirmed that Pakistan holds no animosity toward the Afghan people, who he said are suffering under the current regime. The strikes are part of Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq, which targets terrorist hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Afghan Taliban’s attacks on Pakistani posts, reported at 53 locations, prompted Pakistan’s military response.

The ISPR chief called for a clear distinction between civilians, terrorists, and Afghan Taliban operatives, cautioning that the latter often dress as civilians, complicating identification efforts. He described Afghanistan as a territory controlled by a terrorist proxy rather than a state, and reiterated Pakistan’s stance that Afghan soil should not be used for aggression against it. Chaudhry also highlighted the presence of terrorists from groups like Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan in Afghan government buildings, allegedly with the Taliban’s support.