The situation has deteriorated between Pakistan and Afghanistan following repeated terrorist attacks by the TTP.
Islamabad: Heavy fighting broke out once again this week between Pakistani security forces and the Afghan Taliban along the border between the two countries in Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, state media reported.
According to the state broadcaster PTV News, "Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij opened unprovoked fire in Kurram. The Pakistani Army responded with full force and intensity." The term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by Pakistani authorities to refer to militants of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Islamabad said the Afghan side has repeatedly targeted its border posts. Kabul insists it’s responding to violations of its airspace and sovereignty. The clashes began when Afghan troops and Pakistani Taliban fighters jointly attacked a post in Kurram district, part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, PTI reported. Pakistani forces, it said, "responded strongly," even destroying what officials described as a major training camp used by the Pakistani Taliban.
Over the weekend, Afghanistan’s Taliban government claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory strikes on several military posts. Pakistan disputed that figure, saying it lost 23 soldiers and killed more than 200 "Taliban and affiliated terrorists" in return fire.
Pakistan has in the past admitted to launching cross-border attacks against hideouts of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP -- a group separate from but closely linked to the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad blames Kabul for letting the group operate freely from Afghan territory. Kabul, however, denies these allegations, insisting that Afghan soil is not being used against any neighbouring country.
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Ties with India will grow stronger: Afghan minister New Delhi: Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has expressed confidence that the India-Afghanistan ties will grow stronger in the future as he visited Darul Uloom Deoband in Saharanpur, one of the most influential Islamic seminaries in South Asia. "I am thankful for such a grand welcome and the affection shown by the people here. I hope that India-Afghanistan ties advance further," the Afghan leader told reporters. "We will be sending new diplomats, and I hope you people will visit Kabul as well. I have hopes for stronger ties in the future from the way I was received in Delhi. These visits may be frequent in the near future," Muttaqi said. Muttaqi, who is in New Delhi on a six-day trip, is the first senior Taliban minister to visit India after the group seized power four years back. India has not yet recognized the Taliban setup. |
