The Taliban government confirmed attacks on Pakistani forces in several mountainous areas on its northern border.
It is not yet clear how many casualties will result from the operation, which the Taliban government called a ‘retaliation operation’ after Pakistan claimed on Thursday that it had violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market within the border.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the attack in Afghanistan was an “unprovoked attack” and that civilians had been shot, and warned that Pakistan’s military would respond by “throwing stones at every brick”.
Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring terrorists targeting Pakistan on its territory, an accusation the Taliban government has rejected.
The BBC reported that both Afghanistan and Pakistan reportedly used small arms and artillery in the Kunar-Khurram region.
Naqvi said he “strongly condemns” the Taliban attack and added, “Afghan forces shooting at civilians is a blatant violation of international law.”
“Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” he said in a post on X.
A Pakistan Army spokesman said necessary steps would be taken to protect the lives and property of Pakistanis.
The Pakistan Army has not commented officially, but according to the BBC, security sources said the shooting occurred along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral; It was claimed that it occurred in several places including Baramcha.
A police official deployed near Zero Point in Kurram district told the BBC that heavy weapons fire began from the Afghan side around 22:00 local time (17:00 GMT).
He said he had received reports of heavy gunfire at several locations along the border.
Last week, Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Kabul’s “sovereign territory” after two loud explosions were heard in Kabul late Thursday.
Pakistan bombed a civilian market in the Paktika border region in southeastern Afghanistan, the Taliban’s defense ministry said on Friday. Local residents told the BBC Afghanistan service that a number of shops had been destroyed.
A senior Pakistani general has claimed that Afghanistan is being used as a “base of terrorist operations against Pakistan”.
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, to operate on its soil and fight against the Islamabad government to impose a strict Islamist-led system of rule.
The Afghan Taliban government has always denied this.
The latest escalation coincides with a historic week-long visit to India by Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, his first since the Taliban came to power.
In a diplomatic thaw, Delhi announced that it would reopen its embassy in Kabul, which was closed when the Taliban came to power four years ago.
Naqvi warned, “Afghanistan, like India, will respond accordingly,” and added, “So we will not dare to look at Pakistan with malicious eyes.”
Saudi Arabia, which signed a mutual defense pact with Pakistan last month, called for restraint and to prevent escalation between Islamabad and Kabul in a statement.
Qatar also expressed concern over tensions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, urging both sides to “prioritize dialogue, diplomacy and restraint.”
