Fifty-eight Pakistani soldiers were killed and tens more injured in clashes overnight on the country’s border with Afghanistan, the Taliban government said on Sunday, after Kabul accused Islamabad of violating its airspace and attacking a market in the east of the country earlier this week.
Why It Matters
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan and the Taliban regime that rules the country of harboring and enabling terrorist groups targeting its territory, including Taliban militant offshoot, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Kabul denies this.
Pakistan borders southeastern Afghanistan.
What To Know
Afghanistan attacked and “destroyed” 20 Pakistani outposts overnight in “retaliatory operations” across the Durand Line, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Sunday. The Durand Line is the de-facto, colonial-era border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, although Kabul has never formally recognized the 1,600-mile line. The border between the two countries was reportedly shut on Sunday.
Fifty-eight Pakistani soldiers were killed, along with nine Afghan soldiers, Mujahid said in remarks reported by the country’s Tolo news agency.
Newsweek has reached out to the Pakistani government via email for comment.
Sixteen Afghan troops were wounded, the spokesperson said.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Sunday that the Afghan military had carried out “unprovoked firing and raids” over the border and Islamabad’s “befitting response and strikes are against Taliban infrastructure” and what he said were “terrorist elements operating from Afghan soil.”
“We expect [the] Taliban government to take concrete measures against terrorist elements and their perpetrators that wish to derail Pak-Afghan relation,” Dar said.
Mujahid said operations stopped at midnight after petitions from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. There are “no noteworthy threats” on the entire border, Hamdullah Fitrat, a Taliban government spokesperson, said on Sunday. “We prioritize dialogue and understanding in resolving issues and have achieved good accomplishments in this regard.”
Pakistan has not officially acknowledged a strike on TTP in Kabul on Thursday that targeted the militant group’s leader, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed Pakistani security official.
The Taliban government said on Thursday Pakistan had attacked a civilian market in Paktika, an Afghan border province.
What People Are Saying
Taliban government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said on Sunday: “It is clear that Afghanistan has the right to defend its airspace and borders, and no aggressions will go unanswered.”
“Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations against Pakistan, and there is proof and evidence of that,” Ahmad Sharif, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s army, said on Friday.
“Pakistan is a peace-loving country and harbors no aggressive designs against anyone,” Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, the speaker of Pakistan’s National Assembly, said on Sunday. “However, our patience should not be mistaken for weakness—border violations are intolerable.”
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday it was concerned over the “potential repercussions for the security and stability of the region,” and urged dialogue between the two countries.
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