KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN┬а- A local Afghan woman from near the Nurgal district has come forward to dispute the Taliban government's claims of civilian casualties in the recent Pakistani air strikes, stating that those present at the targeted location were not ordinary civilians but Taliban-linked individuals.
The Woman's Account
According to local sources, the woman's testimony directly challenges the narrative put forward by Kabul, which has claimed that three civilians-including a woman and two men-were killed in the early morning strikes on Monday.
The Taliban's deputy spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, had stated that a house belonging to a villager named Noor Ahmad in Patan village of Nurgal district was completely destroyed, killing Ahmad and two family members, and wounding four others┬а.
However, the woman's account asserts that the individuals present were not ordinary civilians but were connected to Taliban-linked elements, contradicting the official casualty claims.
Conflicting Narratives
The air strikes, conducted in the early hours of Monday, targeted what Pakistani security officials described as "terrorist hubs" along the border. According to two Pakistani security officials speaking on condition of anonymity, 28 suspected militants were killed in the strikes on Nurgal district in Kunar province and Barmal district in Paktika province┬а.
The Taliban government rejected this figure, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid condemning the strikes as "aggression and oppression" and vowing an "appropriate response"┬а.
A local farmer, Mubin Khan, who was injured in the bombardment, told AFP that three members of his family died and his three-room house and livestock were destroyed┬а. The Taliban's account has been widely reported, while the woman's counter-testimony adds a new dimension to the contested narrative.
Context of the Strikes
The strikes followed a deadly suicide bombing and gun attack on a police compound in Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Friday, which killed at least 16 people, including police officers, and injured over 50┬а. A militant faction, Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, linked to the TTP, claimed responsibility┬а.
Pakistan's Information Ministry warned on Saturday that the country could target militants inside Afghanistan in response to attacks on its soil, blaming the Kohat attack on militants based in Afghanistan and accusing the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering and supporting groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan┬а.
Pakistan's Position
Pakistan has consistently maintained that its strikes target militant hideouts and infrastructure used by groups like the TTP and its allies, which operate from Afghan soil. The Foreign Office has emphasized that Pakistan has both the will and the capability to eliminate terrorist threats wherever they are┬а.
The Afghan Taliban government denies harboring militants and has repeatedly accused Pakistan of targeting civilians, including women and children. The United Nations has also reported civilian casualties from previous Pakistani strikes, with UNAMA documenting at least 28 civilians killed and 49 wounded in strikes on June 28┬а.
The Human Cost
The conflicting accounts underscore the difficulty of verifying casualty claims in the remote border regions, where access is limited and both sides have strategic reasons to shape the narrative. The woman's testimony adds weight to Pakistan's position that the targets were Taliban-linked, while the Taliban's account continues to emphasize civilian harm.
As the strikes risk further escalation between the two neighbors, the truth of what happened in Nurgal remains contested-but the woman's account provides a rare on-the-ground challenge to Kabul's official line.
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