Clashes have erupted in a tense border region between the nation and Afghanistan, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
The cross-border violence late Friday comes amid heightened tensions between the South Asian neighbours, marked by deadly clashes in recent weeks, despite an October truce.
“Unfortunately, tonight, the Pakistani side started attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate were forced to respond,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X late Friday, without providing details.
Pakistan said yesterday it was Afghanistan that launched the hostilities.
“A short while ago, the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing” along the border, Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, said on X.
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces.”
Residents on the Afghan side of the border told AFP the exchange of fire broke out around 10.30pm and lasted about two hours.
Ali Mohammed Haqmal, head of Kandahar’s information department, told AFP that Pakistani forces attacked with “light and heavy artillery” and that mortar fire had struck civilian homes.
“The clashes have ended; both sides agreed to stop,” he added.
No casualties were immediately reported.
An AFP correspondent in Chaman, on the Pakistani side of the border, heard artillery fire and explosions.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have been locked in an increasingly bitter dispute since the Taliban authorities reclaimed control of Kabul in 2021. — AFP
