Pakistan Loses 5 Soldiers Amid Rising Tensions with Afghanistan

Lebanon Today

The Pakistani army announced in a statement today, Sunday, the killing of five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants during clashes near the border with Afghanistan. This announcement comes at a time when a meeting is taking place between delegations from the two countries in Istanbul, with the aim of easing the escalating tension following the most violent border fighting the region has witnessed in years.

The media office of the Pakistani army stated that the militants tried to infiltrate across the border from Afghan territory last Friday and Saturday, in the “Karam” and “North Waziristan” regions, which are rugged areas located on the northwestern border of Pakistan.

The statement indicated that the synchronicity of these infiltration attempts raises doubts about the seriousness of the Afghan interim government in dealing with threats emanating from its territory. The Pakistani army stressed the importance of adhering to the “Doha Agreement” and called on the Afghan government to assume its responsibilities and prevent the use of its territory in launching any hostilities against Pakistan.

In return, no official comment has yet been issued by the Taliban government or the Afghan Ministry of Defense on the statements of the Pakistani army. It is noteworthy that the Taliban consistently denies the accusations leveled against it of harboring militants and affirms that the Pakistani military operations represent a violation of Afghan sovereignty.

This development coincides with a meeting held by officials from “Kabul” and “Islamabad” in “Istanbul” to discuss ways to prevent a recurrence of the conflict, following the violent clashes that erupted between the armies of the two countries at the beginning of this month, which were described as the most violent since the Taliban took control of “Kabul” in 2021.

The fighting broke out after Pakistan demanded that the Taliban control the militants who it says are operating from safe havens inside Afghan territory, which led to a heavy exchange of fire and Pakistani air strikes across the border.

The two sides reached a truce in “Doha” last Sunday in an attempt to contain the escalating tension between them.

In a statement on Saturday, the Pakistani Minister of Defense, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, said: The truce is still in place, stressing that he believes that Afghanistan seeks peace, but at the same time he warned that the failure of the Istanbul talks will lead to an “open war.”