Islamabad, Pakistan – In an escalation of the conflict, the government of Pakistan claimed to have bombed Kabul, the Afghan capital, in the early hours of Friday and declared an “open confrontation” with its neighboring country. It is the most serious incident between the two countries since the Taliban returned to power.
Mosharraf Zaidi, the spokesperson for the Pakistani prime minister for foreign media, reported that Pakistani counterattacks reached “military targets” in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar.
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The Taliban’s main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed the attacks on the capital and stated that there were no casualties.
“The cowardly Pakistani army has carried out bombings in some areas of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia,” Mujahid wrote on X.
Mujahid added that Afghanistan had carried out “significant retaliation operations against Pakistani military positions in Kandahar and Helmand.”
Since Thursday, Taliban government forces and Pakistan have engaged in intense fighting at various points along the border following Kabul’s launch of a coordinated operation along the Durand Line. This operation came five days after a series of Pakistani air incursions.
According to Zaidi, Pakistani attacks have killed 133 Taliban members and injured over 200.
“Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open confrontation,” Pakistan’s Minister of Defense, Khawaja Asif, posted on X, addressing Afghanistan.
“Pakistan made every effort, both directly and through friendly countries, to keep the situation stable. It carried out extensive diplomacy. However, the Taliban became a proxy of India,” Asif wrote on X.
The Pakistani government also reported the destruction of 27 Afghan posts and the capture of nine.
Hours earlier, the Taliban government declared an end to its offensive against Pakistan and claimed to have killed 55 Pakistani soldiers. In addition, they captured two bases and 19 posts along the Durand Line.
The confrontation is the result of the bombings carried out by Pakistan last week, which caused at least 17 deaths.
Kabul claimed that the victims were civilians, while Islamabad insisted that it was an operation against approximately one hundred Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgents who use Afghan soil as a base.
Pakistan has been experiencing a surge in internal violence, including armed attacks in border areas with Afghanistan, which have increased since the Taliban took Kabul in Aug.2021.
Islamabad systematically accuses the Afghan regime of harboring terrorist groups in its territory. The Taliban habitually rejects this accusation while denouncing violations of their sovereignty.
SOURCE : EFE. | Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube
