The Afghan SCUD campaign in Pakistan refers to multiple strikes by

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

using

SCUD missiles A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second World, Second and Third World, Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO report ...

supplied by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

against the

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

, but in multiple instances, these missiles struck

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

for their complicity in

Operation Cyclone Operation Cyclone was the code name for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) program to arm and finance the Afghan mujahideen in Afghanistan from 1979 to 1992, prior to and during the military intervention by the USSR in support ...

. In total, 17

missiles A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this u ...

struck Pakistan leading to 34 deaths and multiple injures.

Background

After the

Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan Pursuant to the Geneva Accords of 14 April 1988, the Soviet Union conducted a total military withdrawal from Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghanistan between 15 May 1988 and 15 February 1989. Headed by the Soviet military officer Boris ...

and the end of the

Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...

, the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...

was engaged in a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

without any direct contact with the Soviet. They were supplied 2000

SCUD A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second and Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporting name attached to the m ...

missiles by

Soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

which were to be used against Mujahideen forces, but in many cases these missiles struck

, which was supporting the Mujahideen.

Strikes in 1989

6 April 1989 strike

On the night of Thursday April 6, 1989, a SCUD missile hit a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

in the border town of

Torkham Torkham (; ) is a Pakistani town in Khyber District (until 2018 the Khyber Agency of the now defunct FATA), that is the location of the Torkham Border Crossing with Afghanistan just to the west of the historic Khyber Pass. Torkham lies at the end ...

, no casualties were reported but the post office was damaged. This was the first SCUD attack on Pakistan by Afghanistan. Afghanistan claimed that this strike was not intentional, and was an accident as it was directed on the town of

Jalalabad Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...

where the Battle of Jalalabad was taking place between the

Afghan Armed Forces The Afghan Armed Forces, officially the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (, ) and also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Armed Forces, is the military of Afghanistan, commanded by the Taliban government from 1997 to 2001 and a ...

and Mujahideen.

4 May 1989 strike

On Thursday May 4, 1989, at 8:20, a SCUD missile was launched by Afghanistan which struck near Kharruba Afghan Refugee Camp, in

Bannu District Bannu District (, ) is a district in the Bannu Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Its status as a district was formally recorded in 1861 during the British Raj. This district constitutes one of the 26 districts that coll ...

, killing three Afghan refugees and injuring 17 others.

22 May 1989 strike

On Monday May 22, 1989, an Afghan SCUD missile struck near

Bhakkar Bhakkar () is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th most populous city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar is the administrative centre of Bhakkar Tehsil, which ...

in the Punjab province. This strike which was the third strike, ignited severe tensions between the Pakistan and Afghanistan who accused one to another of sabotaging their peace efforts.

23-26 June 1989 strikes

On Friday June 23, 1989, at 6:45 in the evening, a missile fired by the Afghanistan struck near Khardand in Mazro Kandau. No casualties were reported. On Saturday June 24, 1989, at 5:50 in the evening another missile fired by Afghanistan struck in

Batagram Battagram (, ) is a city and Union Council of Battagram District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°41'N 73°1'E and has an altitude of 1038 metres (3408 feet). Climate With a mild and generally warm and temperate ...

. No casualties were reported. On Monday June 26, 1989, at 8:30 in the morning a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck Teri post in Spina Shagah. No casualties were reported.

3 August 1989 strike

On Thursday August 3, 1989, at 5:20 in the evening a SCUD missile fired by Afghanistan struck the village of

Nartopa Nartopa or Nartupa;(Pashto: نرتوپہ) is a village located in the Hazro Tehsil of Attock District in Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab,Pakistan. The most spoken language in Nartopa is Pashto and second biggest is Hindko Geography The village produces ...

near Haripur. 6 civilians were injured, 4 homes were completely destroyed and 13 were damaged.

15 August 1989 strike

On August 15, 1989, at 8:45 in the morning another SCUD missile struck an area in the

Kurram Agency Kurram District () is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name Kurram comes from the river ''Kwarma'' () in Pashto, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word ''Krumu'' (). Until 2018, it functi ...

. However, no casualties were reported.

1 October 1989 strike

On Sunday October 1, 1989, at 8:15 at night, a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck near Adam Khel in

North Waziristan North Waziristan District (, ) is a Districts of Pakistan, district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering . The capital ...

Agency. No casualties were reported.

27 October 1989 strike

On Friday October 27, 1989, a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck Teri Mangal in Kurram Agency. No casualties were reported.

Strikes in 1990

10 January 1990 strike

On Wednesday January 10, 1990, at 1:40 in the afternoon a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck Hisar Village, in

Attock District Attock District ( Punjabi/Urdu), known as Campbellpur District during British Raj, is a district, located on the Pothohar Plateau, in north western Punjab, Pakistan; created in April 1904. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Att ...

14 June 1990 strike

On Thursday June 14, 1990, at 2 in the morning, a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck Teri Mangal in Kurram Agency injuring an Afghan refugee.

26 June 1990 strike

On Tuesday June 26, 1990, at 4:15 in the evening a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck Peiwar Kotal, Kurram Agency injuring 4 Afghan refugees.

13 September 1990 strike

On Thursday September 13, 1990, a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck near Shahdal, Kurram Agency. However, no casualties were reported.

20 November 1990 strike

On November 20, 1990, at 10:35 in the morning a SCUD missile launched by Afghanistan struck near Awal Khan, Khyber Agency. However no casualties were reported.

28 November 1990 strike

On Wednesday November 28, 1990, at 3:40 in the afternoon two SCUD missiles launched by Afghanistan struck Teri Mangal in Kurram Agency. This was the largest and the deadliest Afghan strike on Pakistani land killing 28 people including 3 Afghan refugees and injuring 15 others.

References

{{reflist 1989 building bombings Attacks in 1990 Building bombings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Battles of the Soviet–Afghan War Afghanistan–Pakistan border 1989 in Pakistan 1990 in Pakistan 20th century in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 20th century in Punjab, Pakistan 20th-century mass murder in Pakistan Cross-border operations Mass murder in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Crime in Punjab, Pakistan Afghan war crimes Attacks on office buildings in Pakistan Afghanistan–Pakistan relations Military campaigns involving Afghanistan Military campaigns involving Pakistan