Tension on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has reached its peak with the Taliban claiming that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliation after Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan. The Taliban has also accused Pakistan of harboring ISIS terrorists.
Taliban accused Pakistan
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed in a statement on Sunday that at least 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and more than 30 wounded in retaliatory attacks near the Durand Line in Baharampur district. He warned Pakistan not to leave without responding to any attack.
Making direct and serious allegations against Pakistan, Mujahid said, ‘Pakistan has turned a blind eye to the presence of ISIS on its soil. Pakistan should expel important members of ISIS hiding from its soil or hand them over to the Islamic Emirate.
He claimed that the Taliban had removed the troublemakers from their territory, but they had established new centers in Pashtun Khwa, Pakistan.
Claiming to have documentary evidence, Mujahid said that recruits were brought for training through Karachi and Islamabad airports and attacks in Afghanistan were being planned from these centres.
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Defended Taliban counter-attacks
Mujahid acknowledged that more than 20 members of the Islamic Emirate forces were also killed or injured in the clashes. Defending the retaliatory attacks, he reiterated, ‘Afghanistan has the right to defend its air and land borders and will not remain unanswered in response to any attack.’ Mujahid said the airstrikes were eventually stopped at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistani Prime Minister’s statement
On the other hand, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the air strikes inside Afghanistan. However, he denied the Taliban’s claim of attacks, saying that the Pakistani army not only responded befittingly to Afghanistan’s provocation, but also destroyed many of their posts, forcing them to retreat.
Sharif warned that Pakistan will not compromise on its defense and every provocation will be given a strong and effective response.
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due to stress
The tension began on Thursday when three explosions rocked Kabul and Paktika in Afghanistan. The Taliban accused Islamabad of violating its sovereignty. In response, the Afghan army retaliated against Pakistan, targeting Pakistani posts in several border provinces, including Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar and Kunar. Although Pakistan did not confirm its involvement in the attacks, it called on Kabul to ‘stop harboring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on its soil’.