A minimum of 28 civilians, who include both women and children, lost their lives while 49 were injured as a result of Pakistan's air strikes and ground operations against the territory of Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan on Sunday, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan (Unama). Whereas the Taliban government in Afghanistan branded the attacks as cowardice atrocities against civilian dwellings, the Pakistani government defended its stance by asserting that the operations only involved attacking militant bases and killing 29 militants. The increased hostilities come just a day after the suicide bombing conducted by the banned militant organization Jamaat-ul-Ahrar which killed three Pakistani paramilitary forces in Karachi; and as part of the fallout, Pakistani authorities arrested an Afghan citizen in connection with the said incident. In essence, this conflict effectively ends the precarious ceasefire agreement that was forged by the neighboring countries last October.