Afghan Taliban strike border with Pakistan, escalating tensions
Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration has launched strikes targeting areas along the border with Pakistan, injuring several people in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, according to Taliban officials.
Pakistan's military stated it shot down four rudimentary drones and warned that any further provocation would receive a befitting response. The claims could not be independently verified.
This development follows Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan on Sunday, which the United Nations said killed 28 civilians. The Taliban administration has accused Pakistan of targeting civilian homes, reporting 36 dead and over 160 injured. Pakistan maintains it struck militant hideouts in Paktia, Paktika, and Kunar provinces, killing 29 militants.
Tensions between the two neighbors have escalated after months of relative calm. In October, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire following weeks of deadly clashes.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harbouring militants who carry out attacks on its soil, a claim the Taliban government rejects. Kabul, in turn, accuses Islamabad of unprovoked strikes that kill civilians.
Intermittent border clashes and airstrikes have claimed dozens of lives in recent months. In February, clashes left dozens dead. In March, a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul killed hundreds. In June, Pakistani airstrikes that killed 26 militants also reportedly killed 13 civilians, mostly children, according to the Taliban.
