Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned on Wednesday the latest instance of firing from across the Afghan border in Lower South Waziristan, asserting that Pakistan would “never tolerate” attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty.

The incident took place on Tuesday night when Afghan security forces opened unprovoked fire on Pakistan Army border posts and residential areas in the Angoor Adda border area. The firing resulted in the death of a local resident and left five of a family injured as a mortar landed on their house.

The Lower South Waziristan deputy commissioner confirmed the casualties in a post on X, saying that several shops were also damaged in the firing.

“Pakistan’s forces on the border have and are responding effectively and heavily,” his post at around midnight said.

The morning after the firing incident, Governor Kundi strongly condemned the “unprovoked and blatant aggression by the Afghan Taliban regime against civilian homes and Angoor Adda Bazaar in Lower South Waziristan”.

“I salute Pakistan’s armed forces for their swift, forceful and decisive response. Let the Afghan Taliban regime have no illusions: Pakistan will never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty,” he said in his post on X.

The governor added that KP had “sacrificed thousands of lives in the fight against terrorism, and we will not allow anyone to threaten our people or undermine our security”.

“Any aggression against Pakistan will be confronted with unwavering resolve. Our armed forces have the full backing of the nation to defend every inch of our soil, and no threat or hostile act will weaken our determination to protect Pakistan,” he warned.

Adviser to KP Governor on Information and Public Relations Samar Haroon Bilour also posted on X that the “cowards” had once again struck at night.

“They will have to face consequences,” she added.

The firing from the Afghan side on Tuesday prompted a swift response from security forces.

According to officials, the firing originated from posts located inside Afghan territory, and targeted Pakistani border posts with sniper, small and heavy weapons.

Sources said that Pakistani forces launched an immediate and effective retaliatory action, engaging multiple Afghan Taliban border posts, mortar positions and defensive bunkers with small and heavy arms, including artillery. The “intense and accurate response” forced the Afghan Taliban to abandon their posts and flee.

The border at Angoor Adda is one of the most important and sensitive crossings along the Pak-Afghan border, serving as a key trade route and one of the main points of public movement between the two countries.

Violations from the Afghan side have become a routine matter.

Pak-Afghan tensions

Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained in the past few years as Islamabad continues to voice its concern over cross-border terrorism.

September witnessed another bout of conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On Sept 21, in response to recent major terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan conducted “calibrated” airstrikes in the border region with Afghanistan against terrorist hideouts, with the government saying more than 28 terrorists were killed.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the action as part of Operation Ghazab lil Haq, which was launched on the night of Feb 26 in response to unprovoked cross-border firing by the Afghan Taliban.

Days later, Pakistan shot down eight drones launched from across the border that had entered Pakistani airspace near the Torkham border and Kohat. It was also reported that the Afghan Taliban engaged in unprovoked firing the night before near Kurram as security forces foiled an attempt by terrorists to cross into Pakistan.

In retaliation for the drone incursion, Pakistan conducted “precision aerial and drone strikes” in 10 locations across Afghanistan.

A demarche was also delivered to the Afghan side on Sept 26 on account of the Sept 23 airspace violation by drones, the Foreign Office said.

On Oct 1, Pakistan again carried out “well-planned and calibrated” airstrikes against terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, the information ministry said, which resulted in the deaths of “multiple terrorists”.

Around mid-October, the state media reported that security forces had again responded to unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in KP’s Upper Kurram.

It quoted security sources as saying that several personnel of the Afghan Taliban were “reportedly killed during the Pakistan Army’s retaliatory action along the Ghuzgarhi border”. The sources further said that in the Upper Kurram sector, the army targeted the Afghan Taliban’s Topsar post and Shipola base camp with artillery fire, reportedly completely destroying the latter.

The border skirmishes came a day after the Foreign Office said that talks with Afghanistan could not be unconditional, but also rejected suggestions that Islamabad was unwilling to engage with its neighbour and said it would welcome sincere efforts by friendly countries to help resolve the dispute.