Pakistani soldiers at Pak-afghan border. — File Photo
Pakistani soldiers at Pak-Afghan border. — File Photo

KABUL: Authorities in Afghanistan said Tuesday that one of their border posts came under a shelling attack from Pakistan, prompting Afghans to return fire in a clash that lasted for more than two hours.

The incident, which reportedly caused no casualties, comes amid growing border tension between the neighbours, with Kabul alleging that Pakistani security forces have fired hundreds of rounds into Afghanistan in recent months.

Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment but Islamabad has rejected similar allegations in recent past, saying Pakistani troops only respond to attacks from militants.

Afghanistan and Pakistan typically blame each other for violence by Taliban militants plaguing both sides of their border, known as the Durand Line.

Afghanistan's interior ministry said Afghan border police and Pakistani security forces traded artillery fire in eastern Kunar province's Dangam district on the frontline between the two countries, but there were no casualties.

“One of our border posts came under fire this morning from across the border. Our border police returned fire and the clash lasted for more than two hours,” Najeeb Nikzad, an interior ministry spokesman, told AFP.

“No one has been hurt on our side and there are no reports of casualties on the other side either,” he added.

He said Pakistani forces fired about 50 rounds — 20 artillery and 27 mortar shells.

Afghanistan's parliament earlier this month dismissed the country's defence and interior ministers over alleged security failures, including the shelling of Afghan soil from Pakistan.

Nato's military force in Afghanistan last month condemned cross-border shelling from Pakistan, after Kabul warned that it could significantly harm relations between the strife-torn neighbours.

Opinion

Editorial

Punishing evaders
02 May, 2024

Punishing evaders

THE FBR’s decision to block mobile phone connections of more than half a million individuals who did not file...
Engaging Riyadh
Updated 02 May, 2024

Engaging Riyadh

It must be stressed that to pull in maximum foreign investment, a climate of domestic political stability is crucial.
Freedom to question
02 May, 2024

Freedom to question

WITH frequently suspended freedoms, increasing violence and few to speak out for the oppressed, it is unlikely that...
Wheat protests
Updated 01 May, 2024

Wheat protests

The government should withdraw from the wheat trade gradually, replacing the existing market support mechanism with an effective new one over the next several years.
Polio drive
01 May, 2024

Polio drive

THE year’s fourth polio drive has kicked off across Pakistan, with the aim to immunise more than 24m children ...
Workers’ struggle
Updated 01 May, 2024

Workers’ struggle

Yet the struggle to secure a living wage — and decent working conditions — for the toiling masses must continue.