Pakistan Claims Afghan Taliban Fired on Border Posts; Kabul Denies

Local Pakistani officials stated that Afghan Taliban forces shelled Pakistani border posts overnight after Pakistani troops thwarted a cross-border infiltration attempt by militants. Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban government, denied any attacks by Afghan Taliban forces.

These opposing statements follow recent Pakistani airstrikes on sites in eastern Afghanistan, which Islamabad identified as militant strongholds. This escalation between Kabul and Islamabad has raised concerns about the impact on mediation efforts by regional powers.

The recent airstrikes concluded several weeks of relative calm that had followed months of cross-border hostilities. Earlier in January, Pakistani security forces reported killing 15 militants who were attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.

According to four local Pakistani officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, militants attempted to infiltrate Pakistan from areas near Afghan border posts in Paktia and Nangarhar provinces. They alleged these militants received support from Afghan Taliban forces. These officials identified the militants as Fitna-ul-Khawarij, a term used by Islamabad for the Pakistani Taliban, a group distinct from but allied with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of permitting militants to operate from its territory and conduct cross-border attacks, allegations that Kabul denies.

Following the Pakistani troops' intervention to stop the infiltration, Afghan Taliban forces allegedly fired mortars and heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts. Pakistani forces reportedly responded with artillery fire targeting Taliban border posts, mortar sites, and defensive positions. The officials suggested that Afghan Taliban forces subsequently abandoned several positions and sustained casualties.

The latest escalations pose a risk to mediation efforts aimed at brokering lasting peace between Kabul and Islamabad, initiatives being undertaken by China, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

In airstrikes on Monday, Pakistan's Information Ministry reported that 28 militants were killed. Afghan authorities, however, stated that at least three civilians died and four others were injured. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan confirmed the civilian casualties, and Kabul lodged a formal protest regarding the attack.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, speaking on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, voiced concerns about the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistan militant groups operating within Afghanistan.

Monday's Pakistani airstrikes were preceded by a shootout with militants in Hangu, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, which resulted in the deaths of six Pakistani security personnel. Days prior, a suicide bomber targeted a mosque within a police compound in the nearby city of Kohat. Eight gunmen subsequently stormed the compound, leading to a 20-hour gunbattle that claimed at least 21 lives, primarily police officers. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks.

Pakistani authorities have attributed the violence to the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, has intensified its attacks on Pakistani security forces, a trend that has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021.