Islamabad/Kabul, Feb 24 (EFE).- Following Pakistani airstrikes over the weekend, Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban government and Pakistani authorities exchanged accusations on Tuesday over new clashes along the Durand Line border area.
“This afternoon, in the Kot area of Nazyan district, in Nangarhar province, the Pakistani side opened fire on Afghanistan, which was responded to by the Islamic Emirate’s border forces,” Zabihullah Noorani, director of information and culture in Nangarhar, confirmed to EFE.
He added that Taliban border forces responded to the shooting, leading to a temporary exchange of fire between both sides.
”The fighting has ceased, and there have been no casualties on our side,” Noorani concluded.
The Pakistani Prime Minister’s Spokesman for Foreign Media, Mosharraf Zaidi, denounced on X that “the Afghan Taliban regime initiated unprovoked firing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border in Torkham & Tirah sub-sectors.”
“Pakistan’s security forces responded immediately & effectively, silencing the Taliban aggression. Any further provocation will be responded to immediately and severely,” he added.
The clash comes at a time of tension between Islamabad and Kabul, after Pakistani forces carried out a series of airstrikes against civilian areas over the weekend, claiming that they were sheltering terrorist groups.
The Taliban regime said the bombings hit residential areas and killed at least 17 civilians, including children, and wounded five others, without providing an official toll of alleged combatants killed.
The conflict that has pitted Islamabad and Kabul against each other for months stems from Pakistan’s repeated accusations that Afghanistan is harboring insurgent groups responsible for attacks on its territory, which Kabul has denied.
In October, similar cross-border attacks left dozens dead in what was the worst bilateral escalation in years, following a series of Pakistani bombings in Afghanistan.
The crisis ended in a fragile ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey to ensure security in the volatile South Asian region. EFE
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