Eight people were killed on the Afghan side during ongoing clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the border

Pakistan: According to security authorities, fighting along the border lasted late into Saturday night, killing at least eight people and injuring 13, including civilians, on the Afghan side, Dawn said.

The fierce gunfight came as tensions escalated earlier this week when Pakistani fighter planes attacked suspected Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) facilities in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika.

Fresh violence broke out on Saturday after an unsuccessful effort by Afghan insurgents to penetrate Pakistan. The increased conflict resulted in the martyrdom of one Frontier Corps soldier and the injury of eleven others. According to security officials, terrorists tried to cross the border on Friday night but were stopped by Pakistani soldiers.

The terrorists joined Afghan troops after the unsuccessful infiltration attempt and attacked Pakistani positions on Saturday morning using both light and heavy weaponry.

Targeting many Pakistani border stations in the regions of Ghozgarhi, Matha Sangar, Kot Ragha, and Tari Mengal, the Afghan troops worked in tandem with terrorists. The altercations continued all day. According to reports cited by Dawn, Pakistani soldiers retaliated with fire, causing the Afghan side to suffer heavy casualties and forcing the assailants to flee their border positions.

Concerns about extremists using Afghan territory for cross-border assaults, especially in areas like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, have been voiced by Pakistan on several occasions. In his remarks last week, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that strikes from Afghan territory were a “red line” for Pakistan and urged the Afghan government to act decisively against the TTP. He said that while Pakistan is open to having discussions with Kabul, these discussions cannot take place in the midst of continuous airstrikes.

According to Dawn, a Pakistani team headed by Special Representative Muhammad Sadiq met with Afghan authorities in Kabul on the same day as the airstrikes to reopen diplomatic talks after a one-year break.

The bombings sparked a complaint from the Afghan government, which said that at least 46 people were killed, mostly women and children. The attacks came after 16 Pakistani troops were killed in an assault in South Waziristan last week.