Pakistani troops destroy Afghan Taliban posts amid rising tensions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani troops on Wednesday targeted and destroyed several Afghan Taliban outposts in a remote southwestern region; This incident signaled rising tensions between neighbors, which authorities described as a response to “unprovoked aggression.”

It also struck Pakistani Taliban hideouts near the town of Chaman in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, two security officials said. The day before, a mortar bullet fired by the Afghan Taliban hit a house here, killing one civilian and injuring two civilians. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

Pakistani Interior Minister Muhsin Naqvi said in a statement that Pakistani forces thwarted the militants’ “malicious intentions” by taking timely action and gave an “appropriate response” to the aggression.

The developments came two days after Afghan officials said mortars and missiles fired from Pakistan hit a university and homes in northeastern Afghanistan, killing seven people and wounding at least 85. Pakistan has denied targeting a university or carrying out any such attack.

Afghan and Pakistani officials met in western China in early April and decided not to escalate the conflict and “explore a comprehensive solution”, the Chinese government said in a statement after mediating the talks.

Pakistan has experienced an increase in attacks in recent years, many of which have been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who have launched deadly attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, which seized Afghanistan in 2021 following a chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops. Cain denies the accusation.