Islamabad has confirmed the death of a Pakistani soldier, citing intense clashes along the southwestern and northwest border areas since Tuesday morning.
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Pakistan has claimed that 67 Afghan security personnel have been killed in its ongoing cross-border war with Afghanistan, as it enters its fifth day. Islamabad has confirmed that a Pakistani soldier has also been killed, citing intense clashes along the southwestern and northwest border areas since Tuesday morning.
Pakistan's Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that "many attacks on the Afghan border have been successfully thwarted." According to him, Afghan ground forces launched ground attacks on 16 locations in the Qila Saifullah, Nuski and Chaman districts of Balochistan province. In response, the Pakistani army claimed to have killed 27 Afghan soldiers, he said on social media.
According to him, Afghan forces also attacked 25 locations in the border area of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan claims that 40 Afghan security forces were killed in the clashes in those areas. Islamabad says that 67 Afghan security personnel have been killed on both fronts.
There was no immediate official response from Kabul on these claims. However, both countries have been claiming heavy casualties on each other since last Thursday. Afghanistan said the attack was in retaliation for a Pakistani airstrike the previous Sunday. Pakistan has been conducting continuous military operations in the border area since then. On Monday, Tarar claimed that 435 Afghan security personnel were killed and 31 positions were captured.
Meanwhile, the Afghan side has also claimed that its operations have caused heavy casualties on the Pakistani army. However, these claims have not been independently verified.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday defended the ongoing military operation inside Afghanistan, saying that Islamabad had taken action against the militants only after exhausting all diplomatic options. He urged Kabul to disarm the groups responsible for the attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan has described the current situation as an “open war” with Afghanistan. The border area is considered a hotbed of terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Islamabad has blamed the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for a surge in violence inside Pakistan in recent months. Pakistan has accused the TTP of operating from Afghan soil and of providing safe haven to the Afghan Taliban government, a charge Kabul denies.
The ongoing cross-border fighting has rendered a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey ineffective in October. Tensions have flared again after talks in Istanbul failed to produce a lasting agreement. Pakistani officials have said military operations will continue until the Afghan Taliban government takes proven and effective action against the TTP and other militant groups.
