Published on: 04/17/2022 – 18:55
Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, tensions on the border with Pakistan have increased. Islamabad says armed groups are launching attacks from Afghan soil and demands a response from Kabul. On Saturday April 16, Afghans said nearly 50 people were killed in attacks carried out “by Pakistani forces near the Durand line in Khost province” and in Kunar.
The attacks reportedly took place before dawn on Saturday. According to Afghan officials, they were carried out by Pakistani military helicopters. Other officials had previously mentioned rocket fire.
The airstrikes reportedly hit homes in the provincial capitals of Khost and Kunar near the “Durand Line” along the Pakistani border in eastern Afghanistan.
The figure given to AFP this Sunday by Shabir Ahmad Osmani, director of information and culture in Khost, is 41 civilians, “mostly women and children,” and 22 wounded in that province.
Several other local officials say the death toll is still above 40. And the day before, other Afghan officials had reported a death toll of six in Kunar, possibly five children and a woman.
The Agence France-Presse, which summarizes the latest reports from Khost and Kounar, therefore reports a total of at least 47 victims this Sunday.
Growing tensions between neighbors
The Pakistani army did not comment on possible attacks. On the other hand, this Sunday in Islamabad, the foreign ministry called on the Taliban authorities in Kabul to contain the militants.
Pakistan is calling on the sovereign government of Afghanistan to secure the Pakistani border region and crack down on those involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan
And Pakistani diplomacy adds that seven Pakistani soldiers were killed in North Waziristan district on Thursday, according to the work by “terrorists operating out of Afghanistan.”
On Saturday, the Taliban government in Kabul warned Pakistan through its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
We take all measures to prevent (such attacks) from happening again and demand that our sovereignty be respected. The Pakistani side needs to know that war is not in the interest of either side.
Border inherited from the colonial era
Border tensions have increased since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021. From a Pakistani perspective, armed groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are conducting attacks from Afghan soil.
Afghan Taliban deny harboring Pakistani militants. They also denounce the fence that Islamabad is building between the two countries.
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Thousands of people cross the Durand Line, a 2,700-kilometer colonial-era border, every day. They are traders, Afghans seeking medical treatment in Pakistan, or people visiting relatives.
With agencies