The Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Kabul’s “sovereign territory” and described it as an “unprecedented violent and provocative act.”
The claims come after two loud explosions were heard in the city late Thursday.
Pakistan also bombed a civilian market in Pathika, a border province in southeastern Afghanistan, the Taliban’s defense ministry said in a statement Friday. Local residents told the BBC Afghanistan service that a number of shops had been destroyed.
Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied that it launched the attack from inside Afghanistan.
But at a press conference in Peshawar on Friday, a top general claimed Afghanistan was being used as a “base for terrorist operations against Pakistan”.
General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry added, “It will be decided what measures should be taken to protect the lives and property of Pakistanis.”
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the TTP, to operate on its soil. The Taliban government has always denied this.
The blast in Kabul was rumored to be part of a targeted attack against TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud.
In response, TTP released an unconfirmed voice note stating that Mehsud is still alive.
It’s unclear what exactly happened. The BBC’s Afghanistan correspondent said Friday he had seen no signs of an explosion at the site where it was suspected to have occurred, but reported a heavy Taliban presence and mobile checkpoints.
The Taliban’s defense ministry warned in a statement that if the situation worsens, “Pakistani forces will bear the consequences.”
But the Taliban foreign minister, now in the Indian capital Delhi, said he wanted to maintain good relations with Pakistan.
“Pakistan must not repeat these mistakes,” Amir Khan Muttaqi told a group of 16 male journalists from Indian media. “Our problems can be solved through negotiations, not war.”
