The Taliban administration has acknowledged that it launched assaults on Pakistani military forces in several elevated areas along the northern frontier.
The extent of casualties remains unclear in what the Taliban described as “retaliation operations,” following its assertion that Pakistan breached Afghan airspace and attacked a marketplace within its borders on Thursday.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi labeled the Afghan attacks as “unjustified” and indicated that civilians were targeted, cautioning that his nation’s military would act “with a stone for every brick”.
Islamabad has charged Kabul with sheltering terrorists who assault Pakistan from within its territory, a claim the Taliban regime denied.
Both Afghan and Pakistani forces are reported to have utilized small firearms and artillery in the Kunar-Kurram area, according to BBC insights.
Expressing his strong disapproval of the Taliban’s strikes, Naqvi remarked: “The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations constitutes a clear infringement of international law.
“Afghanistan is engaging in a perilous game of fire and blood,” he stated in a post on X.
A spokesperson for the Pakistani military noted they would undertake necessary actions to protect Pakistani lives and property.
Although Pakistan’s military has not made an official comment, a security source told the BBC that gunfire occurred at various points along the Pakistani-Afghan border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral, and Baramcha.
A police official located near Zero Point in the Kurram district informed the BBC that heavy artillery fire commenced from the Afghan side around 22:00 local time (17:00 GMT).
He reported receiving information about intense gunfire from numerous sites along the border.
Last week, Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of infringing upon Kabul’s “sovereign territory”, as two loud explosions reverberated in the city late on Thursday.
The Taliban Defence Ministry reported that Pakistan struck a civilian market in the border province of Paktika, situated in Afghanistan’s southeast. Locals informed the BBC’s Afghan service that several shops had been wrecked.
A senior Pakistani general claimed Afghanistan was serving as a “hub of operations for terrorism against Pakistan”.
Pakistan has consistently accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, to conduct operations from their territory and wage war against the Islamabad government in an attempt to establish a strictly Islamist governance system.
The Afghan Taliban government has always refuted these accusations.
The most recent escalation coincided with an historic week-long visit to India by Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, his first since the Taliban regained power.
In a sign of improved relations, Delhi announced the reopening of its embassy in Kabul, which had been closed four years prior when the Taliban returned to power.
“Afghanistan will also face a suitable response akin to India, ensuring it will not dare to cast a malicious gaze toward Pakistan,” Naqvi warned.
In a statement, Saudi Arabia, which recently signed a mutual defence agreement with Pakistan, urged self-restraint and the avoidance of escalation between Islamabad and Kabul.
Qatar also expressed concern regarding tensions at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, appealing to both parties to “prioritize dialogue, diplomacy, and restraint”.
