SAEDNEWS: Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy gunfire along their shared frontier late on Friday, officials from both sides said, underscoring rising tensions after peace talks earlier in the week failed to yield progress.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces carried out attacks in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister accused Afghan forces of “unprovoked firing” along the Chaman border.
“Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement.
The cross-border exchange occurred two days after a new round of peace negotiations between the neighboring states ended without a breakthrough, although both sides reaffirmed their fragile ceasefire.
In a related development, the recent talks in Saudi Arabia followed earlier sessions hosted by Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, all aimed at easing tensions that had spiked after deadly clashes in October.
At the center of the dispute, Pakistan says militants based in Afghanistan have recently carried out attacks on its soil, including suicide bombings involving Afghan nationals.
Kabul rejects the allegation, arguing that it cannot be held responsible for security incidents occurring inside Pakistan.
Dozens of people were killed in the October violence—the most serious border fighting since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
