More than 30 Pakistani civilians were killed when the NATO-led troops in Afghanistan attacked border regions earlier this weekend, the Pakistani daily The Nation reported.
Investigations following the attacks found that civilian casualties were among the 60 casualties, NATO’s International Security Forces (ISAF) admitted.
"We have reports that one of our weapons hit a building which may have had a number of civilians in it," ISAF spokesperson Maj. John Thomas told AFP.
Thomas added the strikes had been carried out in coordination with the Pakistani military, which was also involved in the investigation.
NATO explained their forces had crossed the border by mistake, as there was no barrier between the two sides of the border.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri stated on February 8 his country intended to fence sections of the 1,510 mile-long border with Afghanistan, though work on such a barrier has not yet begun.
Pakistan protested the incident and asked NATO and the Afghan army to explain why civilians were hit.
This latest incident came only few days after 42 men were killed in an explosion in a madrasa (religious school) in north Pakistan.
Local eyewitnesses said they saw an aircraft coming from across the border with Afghanistan, which launched three missiles at the madrasa.
A spokesman for the NATO forces in Afghanistan denied NATO had any involvement in the incident, adding that it respected Pakistan’s sovereignty.
Many leaders and cadres of the Taliban and Al-Qa’ida escaped from Afghanistan to Pakistan following the U.S.-led invasion in late 2001. They found refuge in the mountainous tribal belt in northern Pakistan, where the central government of Pakistan maintains very little control.