Afghanistan said Sunday it killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in overnight border operations, in response to what it called repeated violations of its territory and airspace.
Earlier in the week, Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of bombing its capital, Kabul, and a market in the country’s east. Pakistan did not claim responsibility for the assault.
The Taliban government’s chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan forces have captured 25 Pakistani army posts, 58 soldiers have been killed while 30 others have been wounded.
“The situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control, and illegal activities have been largely prevented,” Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul. There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan about casualties.
Pakistan has previously struck locations inside Afghanistan, targeting what it alleges are militant hideouts, but these have been in remote and mountainous areas. The two sides have also skirmished along the border in the past. Saturday night’s heavy clashes underscore the deepening tensions.
The Taliban government’s Defence Ministry said early Sunday morning that its forces had conducted “retaliatory and successful operations” along the border.
“If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, our armed forces are fully prepared to defend the nation’s borders and will deliver a strong response,” the ministry said.
The Torkham border crossing, one of two main trade routes between the two countries, did not open on Sunday at its usual time of 8 a.m.
Afghan refugee girls sit in a truck loaded with their belongings as they wait with others for the border crossing to open, at a camp in Chaman, Pakistan, on Sunday. (The Associated Press)The crossing at Chaman, in southwest Pakistan, was also closed. People, including Afghan refugees leaving Pakistan, were turned away due to the worsening security situation.
An Associated Press reporter in Chaman heard jets over Spin Boldak, a city in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province, and saw smoke rising after an explosion.
Regional powers call for calmPakistan accuses Afghan authorities of harbouring members of the banned group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Islamabad says the group carries out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, but Kabul denies the charge, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
Pakistan is grappling with surging militancy, especially in areas bordering Afghanistan. It also accuses its nuclear-armed neighbour and rival India of backing armed groups, without providing any evidence.
The overnight border clashes could fuel regional instability, as India and Pakistan came close to war earlier this year over a tourist massacre in the disputed region of Kashmir.
India has also boosted its relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, most recently announcing an upgrade of its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy.
The Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry called for “restraint, avoidance of escalation and the adoption of dialogue and wisdom to help de-escalate tensions and maintain the security and stability of the region.” Saudi Arabia just reached a mutual defence pact with Pakistan.
WATCH | Afghan refugees in Pakistan mistreated, fear deportation, says Human Rights Watch:Fereshta Abbasi, an Afghanistan researcher with U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, says Afghan migrants — documented or not — are fearful of leaving their homes in Pakistan, after reports of arbitrary arrests and extortion, as they face a government-set deadline of March 31 to leave the country. Pakistan condemns attackBefore the Afghan claim of casualties, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the assault and said the country’s army “not only gave a befitting reply to Afghanistan’s provocations but also destroyed several of their posts, forcing them to retreat.”
Pakistani security officials shared videos purporting to show destroyed Afghan checkpoints, but the footage could not be independently verified because the media do not have access to these areas.
According to Pakistani security officials, Afghan forces opened fire in several northwestern border areas in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
One official in Islamabad told The Associated Press that Pakistan had taken control of 19 Afghan border posts from where attacks were being launched. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
“The Taliban personnel at these posts have either been killed or fled. Fires and visible destruction have been observed at the captured Afghan posts,” the official said.
The two countries share a 2,611-kilometre border known as the Durand Line, but Afghanistan has never recognized it.