The border forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan have once again engaged in exchanging heavy fire on Monday evening, in which three civilians lost their lives, Afghan forces reportedly destroyed two Pakistani border posts.
Taliban on Tuesday said that clashes occurred when the Pakistani side objected to the construction of a controversial check post near the border of the Afghans and the Taliban forces tried to stop them which resulted in armed clashes.
Spokesman for the Taliban Ministry of Interior, Abdul Mateen Qanay said that firing occurred near the southwestern border crossing of Torkham when the Pakistani border forces fired on Taliban positions in the Gorki area.
In retaliation, he said that the Taliban targeted and destroyed two Pakistani posts, but lamented that three civilians, including a woman and two children were killed during the exchange of fire.
Pakistan’s military did not immediately respond to a request for a comment, but a source said that three Pakistani paramilitary troops received injuries in the firing.
Border areas between the two neighbors often witnessed heavy clashes
The border areas between the two neighboring, but complicated countries have often witnessed heavy clashes between the Taliban and Pakistani forces over the past three years since the Taliban took power on 15 August 2021. The two sides have blamed each other for starting the fire. It is worth mentioning that Afghanistan is not considered Torkham as the legal border with Pakistan and Afghanistan is not recognizing Duran Line, a border which was drawn up decades ago during British colonial rule and long been disputed.
A source told Harici that initially both sides used light weapons but later the clashes escalated and both sides resorted to heavy weapons, including artillery, targeting each other’s positions.
On the Pakistan side, people in the Bacha Maina residential compound left the border areas soon after clashes erupted.
Most families residing in the locality had shifted their women and children to Landi Kotal and other localities when the exchange intensified, a local news agency Dawan quoted Sabir Khan, a Bacha Maina resident, as saying. He said that most residents were safe with no damage to any of the houses.
Pakistan completely closed Torkham crossing with Afghanistan
Local sources in Nangarhar province say that Pakistan has closed the Torkham crossing to all cars and passengers following the clash between the two countries bordering security forces.
Sources on Tuesday told Harici that talks are going on between the Taliban and the Pakistani side to reopen the Torkham crossing.
Meanwhile, the media office of the Taliban in Nangarhar in a statement said that at least 700 families have left their homes following the clash between Taliban and Pakistani border guards since Monday evening.
Though conflict between the Taliban and the Pakistani military has stopped, the situation in Torkham has not returned to normal.
