Pakistani and Afghan forces traded fresh fire along the Durand Line and Chaman border on Thursday night, while talks to secure the fragile ceasefire continued in the Turkish city of Istanbul, officials said.
The negotiations began in Istanbul to defuse the ongoing tensions between Islamabad and Kabul that transformed into an open border conflict last month. Pakistani forces conducted several airstrikes, with ground forces assisting the operation after 12 of their soldiers were killed in a terror ambush carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Dozens were killed on the Pakistani side, while several hundred Afghan Taliban, as well as the members and commanders of the TTP, were killed in the retaliatory attacks. Both sides once again blamed each other for Thursday’s violation. Yet, the situation on the ground did not escalate further, officials said.
“We strongly reject claims circulated by the Afghan side regarding today’s incident at the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement.
The ministry said, “Firing was initiated from the Afghan side, to which our security forces responded immediately in a measured and responsible manner. The situation was brought under control due to responsible action by Pakistani forces, and the ceasefire remains intact.”
Meanwhile, the two countries continued the third round of talks in Istanbul on Thursday, aiming to defuse the issue of cross-border terrorism and avoid further escalation.
The third round was planned to last for two days and was arranged after both sides failed to agree on the contentious issues during the initial rounds of talks held on October 19 in Doha and October 25 in Istanbul.
So far, no details have been shared by either side about the talks, but sources said that the talks were held in a “good atmosphere” and could be extended if needed.
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