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afghanistan And Pakistan Heavy firing took place on their border after Taliban Said its forces launched “retaliatory” attacks islamabadAttacked several border posts, killing at least 58 soldiers and capturing 25 positions.
Pakistan said it closed its border with Afghanistan on Sunday and gave a “befitting reply” with guns and artillery to the “unprovoked attack”.
Afghanistan’s de facto Taliban rulers said the attack was in response to Violation of Afghanistan’s airspace continues by Pakistan and bombed Kabul and a market within its limits on Thursdays.
Zabiullah Mujahid, the main spokesman for the Taliban government, said Afghan forces have captured 25 Pakistani army posts, killing 58 soldiers and wounding 30 others.
“The situation along all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is completely under control, and illegal activities have been largely stopped,” Mr Mujahid told a news conference in Kabul.
There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan about the number of casualties.
Taliban fighters said they have captured three Pakistani border posts after attacking the Durand Line in Pakistan’s Bahramcha district late Saturday night, targeting almost eight provinces.
Pakistani security officials claimed that their forces had destroyed several Afghan military posts, and that they were responding “with full force”.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the Afghan attacks as “unprovoked” and said his forces were “responding to every brick with a stone” and promised to give a “appropriate response like India”.
“The firing on civilian population by Afghan forces is a blatant violation of international law. Pakistan’s brave forces have responded swiftly and effectively, ensuring that any provocation will not be tolerated,” he said in a post on Twitter.
“Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” he said.
Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Inayatullah Khwarizmi said its forces launched “successful retaliatory” strikes against Pakistani troops in response to Islamabad’s “repeated violations” and airstrikes on Afghan territory.
He said that the operation had ended at midnight. However, reports suggest that border clashes are continuing.
The Taliban Defense Ministry said, “If the opposing side again violates the territorial integrity of Afghanistan, our armed forces are fully prepared to defend the country’s borders and will respond strongly.”
Pakistani security officials said on Sunday that two main border crossings with Afghanistan, Torkham and Chaman, were closed in the wake of the attacks, while three smaller crossings at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan were also closed.
This came as Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government last week accused Pakistan of violating its “sovereign territory” after two explosions were heard in Kabul city late on Thursday night.
Pakistan bombed a civilian market in Paktika, a border province in the southeast of Afghanistan, the Defense Ministry said. Pakistan did not claim responsibility for Thursday’s attacks but blamed Afghanistan for harboring Pakistani Taliban fighters.
However, according to a Pakistani security official, the air strikes targeted the leader of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group in Kabul. It is unclear whether he survived or not.
The TTP is fighting to overthrow the Islamabad government and replace it with a strict Islamic-led system of governance. It has close ties with the Afghan Taliban.
Afghan foreign minister faces fresh clash between rivals Afghanistan and Pakistan Amir Khan Muttaqi’s historic week-long visit to India -His first since the Taliban returned to power.
India has long been an adversary of Islamabad, and a warming of relations between New Delhi and Kabul is likely to lead to fresh tensions with Pakistan, which views India-Afghanistan relations as a strategic threat on its western border.
New Delhi announced plans to reopen its embassy in Kabul, which was closed after the Taliban took over four years ago