Three loud explosions and the sound of fighter planes were heard in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, early Friday morning. These incidents took place just hours before Afghanistan launched retaliatory military action against Pakistan. These blasts in the capital have made the situation more serious amid increasing military tension across the border. However, the exact location of the blasts and any possible casualties could not be immediately confirmed. This development has happened at a time when the situation on the border between the two neighboring countries is already explosive.
Afghanistan’s counter attack on Pakistan
The Afghan government has claimed a major military operation against Pakistan. Deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said in a social media post that the Pakistani regime’s headquarters located in Anjar Sar area under Babrak Post in Alisher-Terezi district of Khost province has been captured. According to him, dozens of Pakistani soldiers have been killed or injured in this action and a large quantity of weapons have fallen into the hands of Afghan forces.
After this, in another update on X, he said that a comprehensive counter military operation has been launched on the Durand Line. This action is being carried out by 203 Mansouri Corps and 201 Khalid bin Waleed Corps in many areas of Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Kunar, Nuristan and Nangarhar provinces and at Torkham Gate. In this post, Fitrat has claimed that till now one headquarters and 19 posts have been captured. Four posts were evacuated and completely burnt.
According to him, 55 Pakistani soldiers have been killed, out of which bodies of 23 and some other soldiers have been detained alive. Apart from this, they have also claimed to have seized dozens of light and heavy weapons, destroyed a tank and captured an International Harvester vehicle. The statement of the Deputy Spokesperson said that the counter military operation is still going on and further information will be given later.
Tension increased on Durand Line
There is also news of heavy firing between the two countries on Torkham, another part of the border. Afghan authorities evacuated refugee camps near the border, while villagers were also evacuated to safer places on the Pakistani side. According to reports, mortar shells fired from Afghanistan fell in some villages of Pakistan, although civilian casualties have not been confirmed. The 2,611 km long border, called the Durand Line, has long been a matter of dispute. Afghanistan has not formally recognized it. There have been several firings and clashes in the same area in recent months.
What sparked the latest clash?
This entire incident started with the Pakistani airstrike on Sunday. Pakistan says it targeted terrorist positions across the border, while Afghanistan claims that several civilians, including women and children, were killed in the strikes. Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said that these precise attacks were carried out in response to recent terrorist incidents.
Constantly increasing tension since the October clashes
It is noteworthy that relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained bitter since the death of soldiers and civilians of both the countries in violent border clashes in October. On October 19, a ceasefire was announced with the mediation of Qatar, but the talks held in Istanbul, Turkey could not reach any concrete and formal agreement. In fact, on October 9, air strikes were carried out on targets associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. The Taliban administration had alleged that this action was taken by Pakistan. Although Pakistan did not directly accept responsibility for the attacks, it gave a clear warning to the Taliban government that its land should not be used to shelter organizations like TTP.