web Desk :
Kabul/Islamabad – Tensions escalated dramatically along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border over the weekend, with heavy exchanges of fire reported at multiple locations, as Afghan Taliban forces launched coordinated attacks on Pakistani military positions in retaliation for alleged Pakistani incursions. Pakistani military sources, however, described their response as “robust and intense,” claiming to have destroyed several Afghan checkpoints amid ongoing operations.The Afghan Ministry of Defense stated that the assaults were a direct response to recent Pakistani military actions on Afghan soil, including alleged violations of Afghan airspace and airstrikes on Kabul and another location on Friday. Taliban officials warned that Pakistan would bear full responsibility for any further escalation in the situation.According to a statement from the Taliban Ministry of Defense shared with BBC in Kabul, the attacks occurred on Saturday night in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar, southeastern Khost, Paktia, Paktika, and southern Helmand along the Durand Line. Taliban forces reportedly targeted Pakistani military outposts with heavy weaponry in a large-scale counteroffensive.Eyewitnesses described to BBC that Taliban forces initiated the assault in the evening using light and heavy arms, leading to fierce fighting between the two sides that continued into the night.On the Pakistani side, military sources confirmed the attacks from Afghanistan, alleging unprovoked firing on positions in Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral, and Baram Chah in Balochistan. They emphasized that Pakistani troops responded with “full force and severity,” and operations were still underway as of the latest reports.Pakistani military officials claimed that during the retaliation, multiple Afghan checkpoints were targeted and destroyed. In Pakistan’s Kurram district, just a few kilometers from the border, a police official told BBC Urdu’s Azizullah Khan that heavy weaponry was being used from both sides, with reports of at least two people injured so far. Local residents added that attacks on Kurram came from three directions within Afghanistan.At the District Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, the main city of Kurram, Medical Superintendent Dr. Mir Hassan Jan informed BBC that an emergency had been declared, with all staff on alert, though no injured individuals had been brought in yet.Further south, in Balochistan’s Chagai district along the border area of Barabcha, exchanges of fire were also reported between Pakistani and Afghan forces. A senior administrative official in the Rakhshan Division confirmed to BBC’s Muhammad Kazim that Afghan forces fired on۔ Pakistani positions on Saturday and Sunday nights, though no casualties or damages were reported at the time.Barabcha is located approximately 50 kilometers north of Chagai’s headquarters and lies in Balochistan’s westernmost district, bordering Afghanistan and Iran. Chagai shares its northern boundaries with Afghanistan’s Helmand and Nimroz provinces. Balochistan has a long shared border with Afghanistan, spanning seven districts, including Chagai.The incidents highlight the fragile security situation along the Durand Line, a historically disputed border that has seen repeated flare-ups since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. Both sides have accused each other of harboring militants and violating sovereignty, though independent verification of the claims remains challenging due to restricted access in the remote areas.As of Sunday, fighting was reported to be ongoing in some sectors, with no immediate signs of de-escalation. International observers have called for restraint to prevent a broader conflict, but neither side has indicated plans for talks. The situation remains fluid, and further updates are expected as more details emerge from the affected regions.
