UN reports over 115,000 displaced in Afghanistan and 3,000 in Pakistan as cross-border fighting intensifies, with no talks planned.

KABUL: Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire at dozens of points along their shared border.

The United Nations refugee agency said the week-old conflict has forced more than 100,000 people from their homes.

It estimates some 115,000 people have been displaced in Afghanistan, with a further 3,000 displaced in Pakistan.

Afghanistan’s defence ministry said Taliban forces struck Pakistani military installations in more than two dozen locations.

It claimed the operations destroyed 14 posts and shot down a drone, killing seven Afghan civilians and three Taliban fighters.

Pakistani security sources said they carried out ground and air operations against targets including in Kandahar.

They stated several Afghan border posts were destroyed in the operations.

People in border towns reported heavy shelling after sunset during Ramadan.

Haji Shah Iran, a Pakistani labourer in Torkham, said he evacuated with his family after shells damaged their home.

“The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan remains tense amid active conflict along the border,” the UN said.

Pakistani government spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi said no negotiations were taking place to end the conflict.

“There is nothing to talk about. There will be no dialogue and no negotiations,” he told state-owned Pakistan TV.

He added that “terrorism from Afghanistan has to end” and Pakistan’s responsibility is to protect its citizens.

The conflict began with Pakistani air strikes inside Afghanistan last week.

Islamabad said the strikes targeted militant strongholds, while Kabul called them a violation of sovereignty.

The Taliban’s defence ministry said it also struck a military base in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Reuters could not verify the strike, and Pakistan’s military has not reported any damage in the region.

Both sides have claimed to have inflicted heavy damage on the other.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said 56 civilians have been killed and 128 wounded since fighting began.

The Taliban government has put the civilian death toll at 110.

Pakistan has rejected both sets of figures, saying it targets only militants.

 The Sun Malaysia