Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
At least seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in fierce cross-border clashes with Afghan forces along the disputed Durand Line, as tensions between the two neighbours continued to simmer over border security and militant movement.
The heavy fighting broke out around midday in Afghanistan’s Paktia province, particularly in Dand Patan district, near the strategic Kharlaachi Gate and the Top Sar and Konj Ali sectors. The clashes disrupted cross-border trade and forced residents of nearby villages to flee, according to the information available.
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Afghan security sources said their forces had responded to Pakistani firing and alleged that Islamabad had been constructing unauthorised border outposts. They claimed the fighting inflicted casualties on Pakistani military personnel.
Pakistani officials, however, blamed Afghan border guards for opening fire on checkpoints in Pakistan’s Kurram district, saying their forces launched a proportionate retaliatory response. The competing accounts could not be independently verified.
PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN TENSIONS ESCALATE
The latest clashes come amid worsening relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with repeated border confrontations fuelled by disputes over militant activity, cross-border attacks and military installations.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of allowing militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to operate from Afghan territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul has denied the allegations.
On Saturday, Pakistani forces and Afghan Taliban personnel also exchanged fire at several locations along the northwestern border in Pakistan’s Kurram district. Pakistani security officials said their troops, backed by artillery, targeted Taliban positions and thwarted an attempted infiltration by militants from Afghanistan. The Taliban government had not immediately commented on that incident.
The latest fighting underscores the fragility of security along the disputed frontier, where disagreements over border controls, militant movements and military deployments have repeatedly triggered armed confrontations.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
