Tensions high as Taliban launches retaliatory attack after Pakistan airstrikes

Tensions high as Taliban launches retaliatory attack after Pakistan airstrikes

A fresh gun battle has erupted between Pakistan and Afghanistan along the border a day after Islamabad carried out airstrikes on its neighbour.

According to a report in Dawn, a Pakistan army captain was killed and two others injured in cross-border exchanges in Kurram District’s Parachinar on March 18.

In a statement, the Taliban defence ministry confirmed that its security forces had targeted Pakistani troops at the border in response to the airstrikes.

Tensions flared between the two neighbours after Pakistan carried out two airstrikes in Afghanistan early Monday, killing at least eight civilians, including three children.

The Taliban government reacted strongly to the action, saying that it “condemns these attacks and calls this reckless action a violation of and an attack on Afghanistan’s sovereignty”.

Pakistan had launched the airstrikes in retaliation to a spate of attacks carried out by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targeting its security forces over the last few months.

Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of aiding TTP, or Pakistan Taliban ever since it seized power in Kabul. Taliban has denied these charges.

Last week, seven Pakistani troops, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in an attack inside Pakistan territory in the latest such attack.

President Asif Ali Zardari had vowed retaliation, saying that Pakistan will respond strongly if anyone enters its borders, homes or country and commit terror.

Areas along the border have long been a stronghold for militant groups such as Pakistan’s home-grown Taliban group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which operates across the porous frontier with Afghanistan.

‘Attack took place around 3am’

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid alleged in a statement that Pakistani aircraft had carried out airstrikes at around 3 am, bombing civilian homes in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border.

“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the attacks and describes these as non-serious actions and violation of Afghanistani territory,” Mujahid said.

The spokesperson asked Pakistan to stop blaming Afghanistan for its problems and failure to control violent incidents.

“Such acts can lead to dire consequences which will not be in control of Pakistan,” he warned.

Meanwhile, the TTP issued an official statement denying that Pakistan’s strikes targeted the group, saying their members operate from within Pakistan.

(With inputs from agencies)