The fresh clashes between the Pakistani forces and the Afghan Taliban along the border broke out on Tuesday night in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said on Wednesday.
According to sources, “The clashes took place after the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij (TTP+BLA) opened unprovoked fire in the Kurram sector. The Pakistani Army responded with full force and intensity.”
According to officials, the Afghan Taliban suffered heavy losses in the drone and airstrike attacks assisted by the ground shelling.
Some 200 Taliban fighters, 23 Pakistani soldiers, and dozens of TTP terrorists were killed in the ongoing border escalations, officials said. Pakistani military officials said that forces have captured 21 Afghan posts along the border and that they have rejected the third ceasefire request made by the Taliban through Qatar on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, the Foreign Office said Foreign Secretary Ambassador Amna Baloch had given a “comprehensive update” to resident ambassadors in Islamabad regarding recent developments along the Pak-Afghan border.
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Kabul on Monday said that the attack on Pakistani posts was a retaliatory move, alleging that Islamabad had carried out airstrikes in Kabul last week. However, the Pakistani side has not confirmed carrying out air strikes but warned Kabul to stop harbouring the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan on its soil.”
Although the clashes stopped on Sunday after pleas from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, all border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained closed.
Tensions on the border have remained high between the two neighbours since last week, when the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes in Kabul and in an eastern market. Pakistan has not acknowledged those allegations. According to inside sources, Pakistan has killed one of the most wanted TTP commanders, Noor Wali Mehsud, a dreaded terrorist involved in the killing of thousands of people inside Pakistan.
Also Read: 200 Taliban, 23 Pakistani soldiers killed in border clashes
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