islamabad, pakistan
Reuters
—
Security officials from both countries said Afghan Taliban attacked a Pakistani military post in a gunfight along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late Saturday, following a Pakistani airstrike in Kabul this week.
Pakistani security officials said they were responding “with all our might” to unprovoked gunfire from Afghanistan. Gunfights reportedly took place at more than six locations along the border.
Taliban forces announced that they had captured three border crossings in Pakistan. Pakistani security officials said the Pakistani military had destroyed several strongholds in Afghanistan.
Video footage shared by Pakistani security officials showed guns and artillery firing into Afghanistan, lighting up the night sky.
Enayatullah Khowarazmi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense, said the operation was in retaliation for Pakistan’s violation of Afghan airspace. He said the attack ended at midnight local time.
“If the other side violates Afghan airspace again, our military is ready to protect it and will respond strongly,” Khowarazmi said.
There was no immediate response from Pakistan on whether the clashes had ended. The border spans 2,600 km (1,615 miles).
Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban regime of harboring Pakistani Taliban insurgents who attack Pakistan with support from India, Pakistan’s enemy. New Delhi denies the charges, but says the Taliban does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
A Pakistani security official told Reuters this week that the airstrike targeted a Pakistani Taliban militant leader in Kabul who was traveling in a car. It was unknown whether he survived. Islamabad had warned Kabul that its patience had reached its limit.
The Taliban government’s foreign minister visited India this week, the first high-level visit since the Taliban took power in 2021, and the two countries agreed to strengthen ties. The visit raised further concerns in Pakistan.
Since the Taliban took power, attacks by insurgents have increased rapidly in Pakistan.
