Two killed as fighting resumes on Pakistan–Afghanistan border after ceasefire

Fighting resumed along the Afghanistan Pakistan border on Wednesday after a temporary ceasefire expired, killing at least two civilians and wounding others in eastern Afghanistan, Taliban officials said.

The brief truce had been announced by both sides ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr. Ziaur Rahman Speenghar, a director in the information and culture department in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, said Pakistani forces fired dozens of artillery shells into the Narai and Sarkano districts after the ceasefire ended, killing two civilians and wounding eight others, News.Az reports, citing the Associated Press.

Afghan border forces returned fire, he said, claiming they destroyed three Pakistani military posts and killed one person. The claims could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Pakistan’s military. However, a local Pakistani official in the northwest accused Afghan forces of initiating the exchanges in multiple areas.

The latest violence comes about a week after both sides agreed to halt hostilities following Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan at the request of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Qatar. The pause followed strikes that the Taliban government said hit a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, killing more than 400 people. That figure could not be independently confirmed.

Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, saying it struck an ammunition depot.

Separately, the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said it had resumed attacks inside Pakistan after observing its own three day Eid ceasefire.

The TTP, which is separate from but allied with the Afghan Taliban, has stepped up attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The group is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the United Nations. Pakistan accuses Kabul of sheltering TTP leaders and thousands of fighters who carry out cross border attacks.

Kabul denies the accusation, but Pakistan has vowed to continue targeting the TTP and its supporters inside Afghanistan until the Taliban authorities ensure Afghan territory is not used for such attacks.

News.Az