Heavy clashes erupt along Pakistan-Afghanistan border | Afghanistan
Following the Taliban’s attack on Pakistani military outposts, intense clashes broke out on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday night.
This escalation follows Pakistan’s airstrike on Kabul this week, security officials from both countries reported.
According to senior Taliban officials from several provinces, Taliban forces have launched armed retaliation against Pakistani troops, claiming that Islamabad has launched airstrikes on Afghan territory. They claimed to have captured two Pakistani border posts in the southern province of Helmand, which was confirmed by local officials.
Pakistani security officials acknowledged that clashes occurred in various border areas and stated that they responded strongly. A Pakistani government official told the Guardian: “Tonight Taliban forces started firing at several border points. We responded with artillery at four points along the border.”
“We will not tolerate any attack by the Afghan Taliban within our territory. Pakistani forces responded with heavy fire, effectively targeting many Afghan border posts,” the official added.
The Pakistani army used artillery, tanks and both light and heavy weapons in its counter-attacks.
On Thursday, two explosions were reported in the Afghan capital and one more in southeast Afghanistan. The Taliban-run defense ministry later accused Pakistan of “violating its sovereignty” in connection with the attacks.
Analysts said recent days showed how deep border tensions run.
Michael Kugelman, a South Asia analyst based in Washington, D.C., said: “The intensification of cross-border attacks on Pakistani forces, unusually intense Pakistani attacks in Afghanistan, and Taliban retaliation have created a perfect storm for the problem. If you factor in the fact that Afghanistan does not recognize the border and disinformation about the crisis is widespread, it all adds up to an unstable situation.” situation.”
Islamabad has expressed growing impatience with Kabul by refraining from confirming or denying its involvement in the airstrikes.
While Islamabad has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attacks, it has called on Kabul to stop hosting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has been accused of killing hundreds of Pakistani soldiers since 2021 and is believed to have received combat training in Afghanistan and shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban.
“Fortunately, this crisis, no matter how serious, is poised to subside sooner or later. The Taliban does not have the capacity to fight the Pakistani army directly and will likely retreat once reprisals calm public anger,” Kugelman said.
Pakistani military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed reports of the attacks and said: “We are doing and will continue to do whatever it takes to protect the lives of the Pakistani people.” He called on Afghanistan to prevent its territory from being used for terrorism against Pakistan.
Islamabad-based security analyst Imtiaz Gul said: “I think what we have seen in these few hours is a logical outcome of the tensions that have emerged between the two countries, especially after the kinetic attacks on TTP hideouts and the Afghan regime’s continued refusal to take demonstrable decisive action against the TTP, which is spearheading terrorist attacks in Pakistan.”
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been strained in recent months due to Islamabad’s accusations that Kabul is harboring the TTP, which has launched attacks on Pakistan.
Kugelman believes that for Pakistan, “the risk is that its recent attacks in Afghanistan will encourage the TTP to retaliate, which will invite further and perhaps more intense Pakistani operations in Afghanistan.” He said: “And then the cycle can begin again. There are no winners here, no easy long-term solutions.
“If we see tensions easing now, we’re nowhere near out of the woods.”
The two countries share a rugged and mountainous border of approximately 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles) known as the Durand Line.
Gul said: “I think Pakistan’s patience has run out. That’s why they decided to take direct action against the TTP leaders. Now the Taliban will say that this is a retaliatory attack, a retaliatory action.”
