Peshawar, Oct 30 Pakistan Army has destroyed several Afghan Taliban border posts and military installations in retaliatory strikes after alleged cross-border firing in South Waziristan and Parachinar districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, state media reported on Friday.
According to state-run Radio Pakistan, Afghan Taliban forces opened “unprovoked” firing in the Angoor Adda area of South Waziristan on October 27, prompting Pakistani forces to retaliate against positions across the border.
Heavy weapons were used to target several border posts, defensive bunkers and military installations of the Afghan Taliban in areas adjoining South Waziristan and Parachinar, it said.
Several Afghan Taliban personnel abandoned their positions following the strikes, while some were also killed, the report claimed.
The claims, however, could not be independently verified.
The October 27 border clash in Angoor Adda also caused civilian casualties and property damage, according to media reports.
The next day, the Afghan Defence Ministry gave a different account of the incident, accusing Pakistani forces of initiating the attack.
In a statement posted on X on October 28, the ministry said Pakistani military personnel had carried out four drone attacks targeting the Angoor Adda market and a commission in Afghanistan’s Baktika province at around noon the previous day.
It said the attacks were carried out “without any incident occurring or any justification provided”.
The ministry said that Afghan forces responded by targeting Pakistani military headquarters and nearby positions, “resulting in the killing and wounding of a number of Pakistani soldiers”, besides causing severe damage to military facilities.
There was no independent verification of the claims made by the Afghan ministry.
The development comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan following a series of cross-border clashes and strikes in recent months, with both sides accusing each other of initiating hostilities.
Relations between the two neighbours have remained strained primarily over Islamabad’s allegation that the Afghan Taliban government is harbouring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and allowing them to use Afghan soil to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly asked Kabul to take action against TTP sanctuaries and prevent cross-border militant activity.
The Afghan Taliban government has rejected the allegations and maintained that it does not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan.
(PTI News)
