Intense clashes erupted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday night, with the Afghan Taliban attacking Pakistani military posts, according to security officials from both the countries, Reuters reported. This comes after Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes on its territory on Friday. Pakistan’s security officials said that the country was responding “with full force” to what they claimed was an unprovoked firing from the Afghanistan side. Pakistan’s officials added that exchange of fire with Afghanistan’s forces took place at six locations along the border, Reuters reported. Pakistan’s three border posts were captured by Afghanistan’s Taliban forces. Meanwhile, Pakistani security officials claimed that their military had destroyed several Afghan posts. The Reuters report quoting Pakistani officials stated that video footage showed guns and artillery firing towards Afghanistan that lit up the night sky. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence spokesperson Enayatullah Khowarazmi said the Saturday’s strike was a retaliatory operation for Pakistan's violation of Afghan airspace. The spokesperson added that the strikes concluded at midnight (local time). "If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan's airspace, our armed forces are prepared to defend their airspace and will deliver a strong response," Khowarazmi said. Islamabad has accused the Taliban administration of harbouring Pakistan Taliban militants in Afghanistan who are accused of attacking Pakistan. The airstrikes on Friday conducted by Pakistani forces targeted the leader of the Pakistani Taliban militant group in Kabul, travelling in a vehicle, a Pakistani security official said. After Friday's attack, the Afghan Defence Ministry had said, “This is an unprecedented, violent and provocative act in the history of Afghanistan and Pakistan. If the situation escalates further following these actions, the consequences will be the responsibility of the Pakistani military.” The clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border came when the Taliban administration's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India this week, which became the first such trip by a senior Taliban official since the group seized power in 2021. (with inputs from Reuters)
