Explosions and gunfire rock Kabul as Taliban forces target Pakistani aircraft, marking a dangerous escalation in cross-border hostilities with mounting civilian casualties.
KABUL: Explosions and sustained anti-aircraft gunfire echoed over central Kabul on Sunday. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed Afghan forces were firing at Pakistani aircraft conducting a fresh incursion.
The incident marks a significant intensification of months of cross-border clashes. These flared dramatically on Thursday after Afghanistan launched a ground offensive along the frontier, prompting Pakistani retaliation with border shelling and airstrikes.
Pakistan acknowledged bombing key Afghan cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, on Friday. The Afghan authorities have accused Pakistan of killing civilians in these attacks, a claim Islamabad has not addressed.
In rural southern Kandahar, construction workers reported being hit by two air strikes on Sunday. The site manager said the strikes killed three people.
“Everything went dark before our eyes,” said 20-year-old labourer Enamullah. “I came from Kabul just to earn a piece of bread.”
Afghan officials stated Thursday’s border offensive was a direct response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes that killed civilians. Pakistan maintains those strikes targeted militant positions.
Deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Pakistani fire has killed 30 civilians across eastern Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces since Thursday. Casualty claims from both sides remain difficult to verify independently.
On Saturday, an AFP journalist in Jalalabad heard a jet and two explosions. Afghan security forces claimed they downed a Pakistani fighter jet and captured its pilot, which Islamabad dismissed as “totally untrue”.
Residents in Paktika reported ongoing exchanges of fire, while in Khost, families fled their homes near the frontier. “The bombardments started, children, women, everyone just got out,” said 63-year-old Mohammad Rasool.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a truce have so far failed. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are engaged in mediation efforts, with China stating it is “working with” both countries and calling for calm.
The United States has backed “Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks”. Under Secretary of State Allison Hooker made the statement on social media platform X after talks with her Pakistani counterpart.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban authorities reject this accusation.
Many recent attacks in Pakistan have been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The group has stepped up assaults since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Analysts note this week’s escalation is stark, as Pakistan’s airstrikes have focused on Afghan government facilities for the first time. Previous operations were described as targeting militant hideouts.
Pakistan’s prime minister’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, told AFP that gunmen associated with the Pakistani Taliban attacked a checkpoint in the northwest. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for that attack.
“Pakistan’s immediate and effective response to aggression continues,” Zaidi said on Friday. He gave a figure of nearly 300 Afghan soldiers and militants killed.
Pakistan’s information minister said 37 locations across Afghanistan had been hit by air strikes since its operation began. Islamabad said earlier that 12 of its own soldiers had been killed.
Fitrat, the Afghan deputy spokesman, claimed more than 80 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 27 military posts captured. The Afghan government earlier put its own troop deaths at 13.
The defence ministry in Kabul also stated it carried out air strikes on Pakistani territory over the past two days. Observers suggested these could have been conducted by drones.
Islamabad declared “open war” on the Taliban authorities on Friday. The Afghan government, in contrast, called for “dialogue” to resolve the conflict.
This month’s violence is the worst since October, when fighting killed more than 70 people on both sides. Land borders between the neighbours have been largely shut since that period.
Several rounds of negotiations followed a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey last year. Saudi Arabia intervened this month after repeated breaches of the initial truce, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
The Sun Malaysia
