On Friday, the Afghan government accused Pakistan of crossing its border for conducting air strikes within Kabul. (Image Source: X.com/ANI)
Heavy fighting was said to have occurred at the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Saturday, days following accusations by the Taliban that Islamabad had conducted airstrikes within its territory. The fighting along the border in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan is, according to the Afghanistan military, "in retaliation" for the air strikes.
On Friday, the Afghan government accused Pakistan of crossing its border for conducting air strikes within Kabul. " In response to air strikes conducted by the Pakistani military on Kabul, Taliban troops are "fighting fiercely against Pakistani security forces in several areas" along the border, the Afghan military said in a statement. "In a swift and fierce retaliation, Pakistani troops successfully targeted some Afghan border posts," security officials were quoted as saying by Dawn. They further added that there were reports of significant damage done to several Afghan posts and militant groups.
TOLOnews quoted that the Taliban fighters have seized several outposts from Pakistani troops, and one outpost each has also been destroyed along the Durand Line in the Kunar and Helmand provinces. Referring to local residents, TOLOnews stated that the fighting compelled civilians to evacuate their homes in the Paktia district because Pakistani troops are bombarding civilian neighborhoods with heavy weapons.
The attacks were done at multiple strategic locations, such as Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, and Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baramcha in Balochistan, The Express Tribune added.
Enayatullah Khwarizmi, a spokesman for Afghanistan's defense ministry, announced on Saturday that the Taliban had conducted "successful retaliatory" missions against Pakistani troops in retaliation for the "repeated violations" of, and air raids on, Afghan land.
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Iran, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have demanded restraint amid the escalation on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border when it coincides with Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's week-long visit to India. While Islamabad did not acknowledge that it had launched the attacks but appealed to Kabul "to refrain from harboring the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its territory," Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported.
Taliban authorities from the provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktika, Khost, and Helmand, all on the Afghan-Pakistani border, confirmed that the violence occurred. Interior Minister of Pakistan Mohsin Naqvi, meanwhile, described the Afghan attacks as "unprovoked." "Afghan forces firing on the civilian population is direct disrespect of international norms. Pakistan's courageous forces have issued an immediate and strong reaction that no one will be allowed to be provoked," he posted on X.
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