Firefights erupt between Pakistani and Afghan forces along border

Islamabad: Firefights broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late on Saturday as the Afghan Taliban attacked Pakistani posts, according to security officials from both countries, following a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul last week.

Pakistani security officials said that they were responding “with full force” to what they called unprovoked firing from Afghanistan. The exchange of fire took place at more than six locations along the border, they said.

A series of loud blasts was heard in Kabul on Thursday night after Pakistan targeted a Taliban official.Credit: Getty Images

The Taliban forces said they had captured three Pakistani border posts, while Pakistani security officials said their military had destroyed several Afghan posts.

Footage shared by Pakistani security officials showed gun and artillery firing towards Afghanistan, lighting up the night sky.

Citing a Pakistani security source, the BBC reported that both sides had exchanged small arms and artillery fire at several locations along the 2600-kilometre border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Baramcha.

According to a police official in Kurram district, heavy firing began from the Afghan side about 10pm on Saturday (4am Sunday AEDT), the BBC said.

Pakistan’s Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the “incidents of unprovoked firing by Afghanistan on Pakistani territories” and accused Afghanistan of “playing a game of fire and blood”

“The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of international laws”, Naqvi said on X, adding that Pakistani forces would respond “with a stone for every brick”.

Known as the Durand Line, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was drawn up by British diplomat Mortimer Durand in 1893 to demarcate Afghanistan and then-British India.

Afghanistan has never formally recognised the boundary, and it has been described as one of the most dangerous and lawless frontiers in the world.

Retaliation for air strikes

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence said Saturday’s operation was retaliation for Pakistan’s violation of Afghan airspace last Thursday. He said the attack concluded at midnight local time.

“If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan’s airspace, our armed forces are prepared to defend their airspace and will deliver a strong response”, spokesperson Enayatullah Khowarazmi said.

There was no immediate response from Pakistan on whether the clashes had ended.

Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban administration of harbouring militants of the Pakistani Taliban who attack Pakistan, with the support of Pakistan’s adversary, India.

New Delhi denies the charge, while the Taliban say that they do not allow their territory to be used against other countries.

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A Pakistani security official told Reuters that last week’s airstrike had targeted the leader of the Pakistani Taliban militant group in Kabul, travelling in a vehicle. It was unclear if he had survived.

Islamabad had warned Kabul that its patience had run out.

Meanwhile, the Taliban administration’s foreign minister visited India this week, the first such trip by a senior Taliban official since the group regained power in 2021, and the two sides agreed to upgrade ties. That visit raised further concerns in Pakistan; there has been an upsurge in attacks by militants in Pakistan since the Taliban returned.

Reuters

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