The Taliban claimed to have captured several Pakistani checkpoints in border areas, killing and capturing soldiers. Pakistan meanwhile said it launched “strong and effective response” with explosions reported in Kabul.
Both Afghanistan and Pakistan acknowledged fighting in border areas on Thursday, albeit disagreeing markedly on exact developments on the ground and the extent of each other’s losses and gains.
It’s the latest escalation of violence between the uneasy neighbors in tensions that can ultimately be traced all the way back to the Taliban reclaiming control of Afghanistan in 2021, but which were most recently evident last Sunday with Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan.
Both sides also reported cross-border fire on Tuesday, but without casualties.
What did Afghanistan say about the fighting?
The Taliban’s government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reported fighting in the border regions late on Thursday local time.
He portrayed it as a response to Sunday’s airstrikes that Afghanistan decried as an unauthorized incursion.
“In response to the repeated rebellions and insurrections of the Pakistani military, large-scale offensive operations were launched against Pakistani military bases and military installations along the Durand line,” Mujahid said in a post on X that began with what appeared to be a religious proverb.
The Durand line is the name for the two countries’ 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border, which Afghanistan has not recognized.
Mujahid followed this up with frequent posts, some including an image, but most simply text, claiming various military gains along the border.
Most followed a consistent formula, announcing the capture of a military facility or post in a given district and concluding with a stock sentence saying: “A large number of the enemy’s soldiers have been killed and wounded, and some have been captured alive.” Besides place names, and the occasional photo of what appeared to be casualties, very few precise details were offered.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said that operations were taking place in five provinces. The Taliban’s deputy government spokesman, Hamdullah Fitrat, said in an English language post that “up to 55” Pakistani soldiers had been killed, with the remains of 23 of them brought back to Afghanistan, and that an undisclosed number had been captured.
Pakistan said it hit Kabul, Kandahar and rejects Taliban claims
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar disputed both the claims on casualties and captures and of territorial losses.
Tarar said that two Pakistani soldiers had been killed and three wounded.
On X, he wrote that Pakistan was mounting a “strong and effective response” to what he called an unprovoked attack from Afghanistan, and said that Islamabad would continue to do so. Explosions were later reported in Kabul after the Pakistani statement.
Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said “a total of 133 Afghan Taliban are confirmed killed, more than 200 wounded. Many more casualties estimated in strikes in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar military targets.”
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan’s “patience has reached its limit” and said there is now “open war” with the Afghan Taliban.
Iran offers to ‘facilitate’ Pakistan-Afghanistan dialogue
Iran on Friday offered to help “facilitate dialogue” to resolve the escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the two sides to resolve their existing disputes.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to provide any assistance in facilitating dialogue and enhancing understanding and cooperation between the two countries,” he said.
Russia also called on Islamabad and Kabul to immediately cease the cross-border attacks and resolve their differences through diplomatic means, the country’s state-owned RIA news agency reported on Friday.
Simmering tensions for years, closer to the boil more recently
Long-testy relations between the neighbors deteriorated sharply in recent months, hitting a low point with the deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.
Land border crossings have been largely shut since.
Several rounds of talks followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but no lasting agreement has materialized in the conflict.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/afghan-taliban-attacks-met-with-pakistani-strikes-on-kabul/a-76143355
