Projectiles were fired from Pakistan into Afghanistan on Thursday, an Afghan military source and witnesses told AFP, as the two neighbours resumed peace negotiations in Turkey aimed at reinforcing a fragile ceasefire.
“Pakistan used light and heavy weapons and targeted civilian areas,” the Afghan military source said of the shelling, which witnesses said lasted 10-15 minutes.
“We have not retaliated yet, out of respect for the ongoing negotiations” in Istanbul, said the the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pakistan and the Taliban had for decades enjoyed warm ties, but relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harbouring the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group that has clashed repeatedly with the Pakistani military. Kabul denies this, saying it has no control over the group.
Both the countries’ militaries clashed last month, with dozens killed in the worst such violence since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Both sides signed a ceasefire in Doha on 19 October, but a second round of negotiations in Istanbul last week ended without a long-term deal, due to a disagreement over militant groups hostile to Pakistan operating inside Afghanistan.
Talks resumed in Istanbul on Thursday.
“We hope that wisdom prevails and peace is restored in the region,” Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters earlier on Wednesday.
He said Islamabad is pursuing a “one-point agenda” of convincing Afghanistan to rein in militants attacking Pakistani forces across their shared border, allegedly with the Taliban’s knowledge.
LND/SAE
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