The border clashes reportedly occurred on the same day Islamabad hosted officials from regional powers
Heavy firing has broken out along the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan, days after a temporary pause in fighting was agreed, Reuters has reported.
The news agency quoted officials of both the countries as saying that the clashes took place on Sunday in the areas between Afghanistan’s Kunar province and Pakistan’s Bajoor district.
On Sunday, Islamabad hosted the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to discuss reducing tensions in the Middle East as the US and Israel continue to wage war on Iran.
According to reports, both Afghanistan and Pakistan used heavy weapons and artillery during the clash.
An Afghan spokesman told Reuters that one person was killed and 16 were injured in the clashes, mostly women and children, while Pakistani officials downplayed the exchange.
“There were some minor violations from the Afghan side and we responded in the same sector.” A Pakistani official gave this information to the news agency.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been engaged in fighting for several weeks after Islamabad’s announcement. “Open War” in February. Pakistan has attacked military and other facilities inside Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul.
Islamabad has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring armed groups that carry out cross-border raids and terrorist attacks, including a February bombing of a mosque in Islamabad that killed more than 30 people. Kabul has denied the allegations.
Last week, Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out an airstrike on Kabul’s 2,000-bed Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, killing at least 400 people.
Islamabad partly blames Pakistan’s growing engagement with its longtime rival, India, for the strain in its relations with Kabul.
China has said that it is directly mediating the ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“The MFA’s special envoy on Afghan affairs is shuttling between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said last week. “China’s embassy is also in close contact with both sides.” He added.
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