‘Afghan civilians killed’ in renewed clashes with Pakistan forces

Four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in an overnight clash between Pakistani and Afghan forces along their shared border, an Afghan official said, in a sign of rising tension between the two as they hold peace talks in Istanbul.

However, a tense calm largely prevailed along the Chaman border in southwest Pakistan, where the two sides briefly exchanged fire on Thursday night, with both sides blaming the other for the breach of last month’s ceasefire brokered by Qatar.

In Afghanistan, Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of the Information and Culture Department in Spin Boldak, blamed Pakistan in a statement for initiating the shooting but said Afghan forces did not respond due to the peace talks in Istanbul.

In Islamabad, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi on Friday dismissed the Afghan claim, saying the Afghans initiated the shooting.

Pakistan’s ministry of information said late Thursday on X that “the shooting was initiated from the Afghan side, but the situation was brought under control”.

The ministry said a ceasefire brokered by Qatar on October 19 remained intact.

Mr Andrabi said Pakistan’s national security adviser Lieutenant General Asim Malik is leading the Pakistani delegation in the talks with Afghanistan.

The Afghan side is being led by Abdul Haq Wasiq, director of general intelligence.

For years, Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harbouring Pakistani militants who carry out cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies.

Tensions have remained high since last month, when deadly border clashes erupted, killing dozens, including soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounding hundreds on both sides.

The fighting began after explosions in Kabul on October 9 that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan and vowed to avenge.

The violence, the worst between the neighbours in recent years, subsided after Qatar brokered a ceasefire.

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a group designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and the United States.

Though separate, the TTP is closely allied with the Afghan Taliban.

Many of its leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, further straining ties between the two countries.