PESHAWAR: At least eight people were killed and 13, including civilians, injured on the Afghan side during clashes, which continued till late Saturday night, according to security officials.

The two sides have been exchanging fire since Pakistani fighter jets bombed alleged camps of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan’s eastern Pak­tika province on Tuesday.

One Frontier Corps soldier was martyred, while 11 others were injured in fresh clashes, which began after a failed bid by militants on the Afghan side to infiltrate into Pakistan, according to sources.

On Friday night, militants tried to infiltrate the border, but their attempt was foiled by security forces.

Sources say Pakistani forces ‘inflicted heavy losses’ during skirmishes over the weekend

After their infiltration attempt was thwarted, the militants joined Afghan forces and fired on Pakistani posts using light and heavy weapons on Saturday morning.

The Afghan forces and militants targeted border posts in Ghozgarhi, Matha Sangar, Kot Ragha and Tari Mengal areas in day-long clashes.

In the retaliatory fire, Pakistani security forces inflicted significant losses on the other side and forced them to abandon their border posts, sources claimed.

Pakistan has repeatedly shared its concerns with Kabul over the use of its soil by militants for cross-border terrorism, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked the Afghan government to take action against the TTP and said attacks on Pakistan from Afghan soil were a “red line” for the country.

He said Islamabad was ready to hold talks with Kabul on the issue, but dialogues and attacks “can’t go together”.

According to sources, the Afghan Taliban had been continuously supporting TTP terrorists based on their side of the border.

The strikes on Tuesday came the same day that a Pakistani delegation, led by Special Representative Muhammad Sadiq, met interim interior minister Sirajudddin Haqqani and foreign minister Amir Muttaqi in Kabul to resume diplomatic dialogue after a year-long hiatus.

The Afghan government lodged a strong protest with Pakistan over the air strikes and claimed that at least 46 people, mainly women and children, were killed.

The strikes by Pakistan were carried out days after 16 soldiers were martyred in a terrorist attack on a checkpoint in Makeen area of South Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2024