Islamabad, May 2, 2026: Pakistan on Saturday strongly rejected remarks by British Special Representative for Afghanistan Richard Lindsay regarding the security situation along the Pak-Afghan border, with the Foreign Office saying the comments reflected a “one-sided” and incomplete understanding of the ground realities.
The response came after Lindsay shared a post by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan on social media platform X expressing concern over reported civilian casualties in eastern Afghanistan, including at a university in Kunar province.
“Concerned by further violence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, including strikes in Kunar. All steps must be taken to protect civilians and avoid further escalation. I continue to urge dialogue and restraint, including in meetings in Afghanistan this week,” Lindsay had posted.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said the remarks failed to acknowledge the continued cross-border aggression and infiltration attempts originating from the Afghan side.
“We have seen the social media post by the British special representative for Afghanistan regarding developments along the Pak-Afghan border. The one-sided remarks are devoid of a deeper understanding of the situation along the border,” Andrabi said in response to media queries.
He stated that cross-border aggression and terrorist infiltration attempts from Afghanistan had continued despite Pakistan’s “goodwill gesture” of a temporary pause in military operations announced in March 2026.
Pakistan had launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq on February 26 following what it described as unprovoked cross-border attacks by the Afghan Taliban and militants operating from Afghan territory. After temporarily pausing the operation on March 18 at the request of “brotherly Islamic countries,” Pakistan resumed the operation on March 26, pledging to continue it until its objectives were achieved.
According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, since the pause announcement, attacks by the Afghan Taliban and “Afghan Taliban-supported Indian proxies” inside Pakistan had resulted in the deaths of 52 civilians and injuries to 84 others.
Andrabi said Pakistan had exercised restraint while effectively targeting militant infrastructure and Afghan Taliban positions involved in cross-border attacks.
“Pakistan, while exercising restraint, has responded effectively by precisely targeting Afghan Taliban posts and terrorist support infrastructure, while also thwarting multiple infiltration attempts from the Afghan side,” he said.
The spokesperson also dismissed Afghan claims regarding civilian casualties caused by Pakistani responses, saying they lacked “evidential credibility”.
“Such unwarranted remarks, without linking them to the root cause of terrorism, do not offer a balanced and objective perspective,” he added.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar termed the recent attacks allegedly carried out by the Afghan Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s border districts as “unacceptable” and accused them of deliberately targeting civilians.
“Resorting to targeting civilian areas after being comprehensively beaten on the ground by the proud security forces of Pakistan and having no courage to face them is not only despicable but also speaks volumes of the low moral character of the regime leaders,” Tarar said.
He cited figures released by the Bajaur deputy commissioner regarding civilian casualties and alleged that three civilians playing cricket were injured in a quadcopter attack carried out by “Fitna al Khawarij” on Friday.
Fitna al Khawarij is the term officially used by the Pakistani state for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Tarar maintained that Pakistan only targets terrorist infrastructure and said the country’s counterterrorism campaign was being conducted with transparency and based on “truth, principles, honour, resolve and faith.”
