Taliban says Pakistani troopers tried to erect a navy construction on the Afghan-Pakistani border, inflicting Tuesday’s lethal skirmish.
The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan has blamed the Pakistan military’s try to construct a safety put up at their border as the rationale behind Tuesday’s cross-border skirmish, inflicting a number of deaths on each side, together with a minimum of three Pakistani troopers.
“Pakistan forces tried to erect a navy put up close to the road,” Taliban spokesman Bilal Karimi mentioned in a press release on Wednesday.
The trade of fireside between the 2 sides occurred in Paktia province on the Afghan facet and Pakistan’s Kurram area.
Karimi mentioned some Afghan authorities went to speak to the Pakistani officers allegedly constructing the border put up, however they have been fired upon.
“Either side exchanged fires, which can have resulted within the lack of lives,” he mentioned within the assertion, with out revealing the small print of Afghan casualties.
The assertion added that the Afghan authorities is investigating the matter and that the management of each nations have been in contact to make sure no repeat of such an incident takes place.
The Taliban’s response got here a day after the Pakistani navy claimed the “terrorists from inside Afghanistan” opened hearth on Pakistani troops stationed in Kurram, leading to “heavy casualties” for the insurgent fighters.
“Pakistan strongly condemns using Afghan soil by terrorists for actions in opposition to Pakistan and expects that Afghan authorities is not going to enable conduct of such actions in future,” the assertion mentioned.
Persevering with tensions
The incident got here amid simmering tensions between the South Asian neighbours for the reason that Taliban seized energy in Kabul a 12 months in the past.
On Wednesday, the Taliban rejected stories claiming Pakistan’s Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar had sought refuge in Afghanistan.
JeM goals to overthrow India’s management over Indian-administered Kashmir and was designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations in 2001. Azhar was added to the checklist in 2019.
Pakistani media stories quoting overseas ministry sources on Tuesday mentioned Islamabad had written to Kabul, asking to find and arrest Azhar.
Whereas the Pakistani authorities didn’t reply to the stories, the Taliban issued a press release, rejecting Azhar’s presence in Afghanistan.
“We reiterate that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan doesn’t enable any armed oppositions in its territory to function in opposition to some other nation,” the assertion mentioned.
“We additionally name on all events to chorus from such allegations missing any proof and documentations. Such media allegations can adversely have an effect on bilateral relations.”
Pakistan’s overseas ministry didn’t reply to Al Jazeera’s request for a touch upon the matter.
