Pakistani, Afghan border forces clash over check post construction

ISLAMABAD

Pakistani and Afghan security forces clashed at the border after the Afghan Taliban attempted to build a check post, the Afghan media reported on Thursday.

Heavy firing took place late Wednesday between two countries’ security forces in the Zazi district of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan, Tolo News reported.

"Clashes erupted between the Islamic Emirate’s border forces and Pakistan army near the Durand Line," the broadcaster quoted interim Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khwarizmi as saying.

However, there have been no reports of casualties from either side.

The clash occurred after Afghan border forces began building a checkpoint and Pakistani forces opened fire to stop the construction, he said.

Last month, Torkham, a key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, was closed for three days following skirmishes between the two countries’ forces.

The Torkham border, which connects Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar province, is one of the two main crossings between Islamabad and Kabul.

Sporadic clashes between troops at the Pakistan-Afghan border have been ongoing for a long time, with no respite even after the Taliban took power in the war-torn country in August 2021.

Islamabad accuses "Afghan-based" TTP militants of carrying out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, while Kabul denies the allegation that its soil is being used against the South Asian nation.

Pakistan army seeks Kabul's support against TTP

Pakistan army spokesperson on Thursday sought Afghan interim administration's support against the TTP, saying Islamabad "always stood with Afghans in every difficult time."

Addressing a news conference at army headquarters in Rawalpindi, army spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry alleged TTP "enjoys support" in Afghanistan.

Pakistan always stood with Afghans in every difficult time and hope "they would stand with us to eliminate terrorism from the region," he said.