Pakistan has raised the combat readiness of its troops stationed along the border with Afghanistan following intense armed clashes in several of the Islamic republic's border provinces late last week.
According to a Reuters report citing Pakistani security forces, all border crossings between the two countries have been closed, and cross-border trade has been completely suspended. The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan spans 2,600 kilometers.
“All crossing points have been closed since Saturday following unprovoked attacks from the Afghan side,” Reuters' sources stated, adding, “There were several exchanges of fire on the evening of October 12th, but overall the situation has been calm.”
A spokesperson for Afghanistan's defense ministry, Enayatullah Khwarizmi, confirmed to the agency that the border situation remains normal for now. However, he emphasized, “If the Pakistani side once again violates Afghanistan's territorial integrity, our armed forces are fully prepared to defend the country's borders and will deliver a decisive response.”
The escalation follows a statement by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who asserted that Pakistan's retaliatory strikes against terrorist formations inside Afghan territory are defensive in nature and not aimed at civilians.
The tensions flared on October 11, with clashes in the area of Afghanistan's Helmand province. Subsequently, the Pakistani Air Force reportedly struck targets near the Afghan border. Official Taliban representatives have not provided details of any operations. Meanwhile, the Afghan television channel TOLOnews claimed that at least 58 Pakistani security personnel were killed in the clashes. For its part, Islamabad stated that its operations had eliminated at least 200 militants, destroyed 19 terrorist facilities in Afghanistan used to launch attacks, and targeted the headquarters of an Afghan tank battalion that was allegedly providing support to the extremists attacking Pakistan.
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Based on materials from TASS