The Taliban authorities has confirmed that it attacked Pakistani troops in a number of mountainous areas on the northern border.
Casualties usually are not but clear in what the Taliban known as “retaliatory operations”, after it mentioned Pakistan violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market inside its border on Thursday.
Pakistani Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi known as the Taliban assaults “unprovoked”, accusing them of firing at civilians. Pakistani forces would reply “with a stone for each brick”, he warned.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring terrorists who goal Pakistan on its soil, a declare the Taliban reject. The escalation got here because the Afghan Taliban international minister was in India for an historic go to.
Either side are mentioned to have used small arms and artillery within the Kunar-Kurram area, the BBC understands.
Saying he “strongly condemns” the Taliban’s assaults, Naqvi acknowledged: “The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of worldwide legal guidelines.
“Afghanistan is enjoying a sport of fireplace and blood,” he mentioned in a put up on X.
A Pakistani army spokesman mentioned they’d take crucial measures to safeguard Pakistani lives and properties.
Pakistan’s army has not formally commented, however a safety supply informed the BBC firing came about at a number of areas alongside the Pakistani-Afghan border, together with Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Baramcha.
A police official stationed close to the Zero Level in Kurram district informed the BBC that heavy weapons hearth started from the Afghan aspect round 22:00 native time (17:00 GMT).
He mentioned they’d acquired stories of intense gunfire from a number of areas alongside the border.
Final week, Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Kabul’s “sovereign territory”, as two loud blasts have been heard within the metropolis late on Thursday.
Pakistan bombed a civilian market within the border province of Paktika, in Afghanistan’s south-east, the Taliban Defence Ministry mentioned on Friday. Locals there informed the BBC’s Afghan service that a variety of retailers had been destroyed.
A prime Pakistani basic alleged Afghanistan was getting used as a “base of operation for terrorism in opposition to Pakistan”.
Pakistan has lengthy accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistan Taliban, generally known as the TTP, to function from their land and combat in opposition to the Islamabad authorities in a bid to implement a strict Islamic-led system of governance.
The Taliban authorities has all the time denied this.
The newest escalation got here because the Afghan Taliban Overseas Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was in India for a week-long go to. In a diplomatic thaw, Delhi mentioned that it will reopen the embassy in Kabul, which was shut 4 years in the past when the Taliban returned to energy.
“Afghanistan may even be given a befitting reply like India, so that it’ll not dare to have a look at Pakistan with a malicious eye,” Naqvi warned.
In a press release, Saudi Arabia, which signed a mutual defence pact with Pakistan final month, known as for self-restraint and avoidance of escalation between Islamabad and Kabul.
Qatar additionally issued a press release, expressing concern over the Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions and saying that it “urges either side to prioritise dialogue, diplomacy, and restraint”.
