4 killed, 14 injured in Afghanistan last week

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul after drone attacks on Khost and Nangarhar provinces last week.

The European Union announced 10 million euros in aid for Afghan children, and the WHO said it had received 6.3 million dollars in aid for health services in Afghanistan.

Last week’s major events:

• Pakistani envoy summoned after drone strikes
• Drone attacks to have consequences: MoD
• Noori: Afghans in Iran be treated under Islamic principles
• UN seeks urgent support for Afghan returnees
• EU provides 10 million euros to support Afghan children
• WHO receives more than $6.3m for health services

Casualties:

Four people were killed and 14 others were injured in separate incidents of violence in Afghanistan last week.

Pakistani drone strikes in Shinwar district of Nangarhar and Spera district of Khost killed three children and injured seven others, including women and children, local sources said.

Local officials also said that one person was killed and seven others were injured after old mortar shells exploded in Maidan Wardak and Badghis provinces.

In the previous week, 16 people had been killed and one injured in separate incidents in Afghanistan.

Before the regime change in 2021, hundreds of civilians, insurgents and security forces would get killed and injured every week in the country.

Reactions to Pakistan’s attacks on Khost and Nangarhar:

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Pakistani ambassador and handed him a letter of protest. The ambassador was told that “such irresponsible actions will definitely have consequences.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned Pakistan’s violation of Afghan airspace and bombing of civilians near the Durand Line, calling it a clear violation of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and a provocative act.

The Ministry of Defense also condemned these attacks, saying “such irresponsible actions will have their consequences.”

The Defense Ministry added: “Such cruel and barbaric actions are not in anyone’s interest, but rather lead to a gap between two Muslim nations and an increase in hatred between both sides.”

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai also condemned the attacks as a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty, an act against international norms and good neighborliness.

Meanwhile, Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement leader Manzoor Pashteen said in response to the attacks that the killing of children was “not a counter-terrorism operation, but the worst form of terrorism.”

Similarly, former US special representative for peace in Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad also condemned the attacks.

Afghan refugees

Officials say over 51,000 Afghan refugees returned from Pakistan and Iran last week, most of them from Iran.

Last week, Afghanistan’s Minister of Borders, Ethnic and Tribal Affairs Mullah Noorullah Noori met with Iranian Ambassador Ali Reza Bigdali in Kabul and said that Afghan refugees living in Iran should be treated within the framework of Islamic and international principles.

The meeting discussed economic relations, mutual trust, regional issues, and establishing better coordination between Afghanistan and Iran based on good relations.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that 2.3 million Afghans, who returned to their country from Pakistan and Iran this year, direly needed urgent support.

According Iran’s Foreign Minister, currently over six million Afghans live in the country and Tehran has decided to expel two million of them by the end of this year.

Aid

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said last week the European Union would provide 10 million euros to support Afghan children, especially those returning from neighboring countries.

Also, last week, the World Health Organization announced that it has received over 6.3 million dollars in humanitarian assistance to strengthen health services in Afghanistan.

The World Health Organization’s Country Office for Afghanistan wrote on its X-Page that the funding was provided by the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Afghanistan Humanitarian Fund (AHF).

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