Fighting has ceased on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border after Pakistani airstrikes triggered skirmishes, announced a Taliban government spokesperson on Tuesday.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban government, informed AFP, “The situation is calm, the fighting has stopped.”
Pakistan conducted strikes in border areas within Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces early on Monday. Islamabad stated that it targeted militants responsible for a recent attack on its territory. However, Taliban authorities claimed that eight civilians, including women and children, fell victim to the bombardment.
The Afghanistan Ministry of Defence reported that its border forces retaliated by engaging Pakistani military posts along the border with heavy weaponry, resulting in cross-border skirmishes reported by both sides.
A senior police officer in Pakistan’s Kurram border district informed AFP that Afghan security forces shelled the area with mortar rounds. Consequently, three security posts and five civilian houses sustained partial damage, with nine individuals, including four security personnel, injured.
“The border is quiet today, and security forces have fortified their positions,” the officer remarked anonymously.
Border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated steadily since the Taliban government assumed power in 2021. Islamabad accuses Kabul’s Taliban administration of sheltering militant operatives, allowing them to conduct attacks on Pakistani territory without consequences, an allegation Kabul denies.
Gun battles frequently erupt over the construction of checkpoints along the disputed border, and trade crossings are often closed due to immigration disputes.
