Fierce Cross-Border Gunfire Between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Officials of both countries have said that heavy exchanges of gunfire took place between the two sides along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Hours-long gunfire broke out on Friday night amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks a few days earlier.
According to Reuters, no casualties were reported immediately.
Zabiullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, said that Pakistani forces first launched an attack in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province.
However, Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s Office pointed the finger at the neighboring country, saying that Afghan forces started the firing “without provocation” at the Chaman border.
“Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of its citizens,” spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement.
This exchange of fire occurred two days after the latest round of peace talks between the two South Asian neighbors ended without a breakthrough. Although there was no agreement in the talks, both sides agreed to maintain their fragile ceasefire.
After deadly border clashes in October, a series of meetings were held in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey to ease tensions. This time, Afghan and Pakistani officials met in Saudi Arabia, but those talks yielded no results.
At the center of the dispute between the two sides lies terrorism. Islamabad says that Afghanistan-based militants recently carried out several attacks in Pakistan, including suicide bombings, in which Afghan nationals were involved.
Kabul has denied the allegation, saying that they cannot take responsibility for Pakistan’s internal security.
Dozens of people from both sides were killed in the October clashes. Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, that incident was the deadliest border violence between the two countries.
