Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday,
officials from both countries said, amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks last weekend.
Al Jazeera reports that four civilians were killed in the exchange in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. The figure was confirmed by Kandahar’s governor.
Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of Kandahar’s information department, told AFP that Pakistan forces attacked with “light and heavy artillery” and that mortar fire had struck civilian homes.
Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister accused Afghan forces of “unprovoked firing” along the Chaman border.
“Pakistan remains fully alert and committed to ensuring its territorial integrity and the safety of our citizens,” spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi said in a statement.
The exchange came nearly a week after a new round of peace talks between the South Asian neighbours ended without a breakthrough, although both sides agreed to continue their fragile ceasefire.
The talks in Saudi Arabia last weekend were the latest in a series of meetings hosted by Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to cool tensions following deadly border clashes in October.
At the heart of the dispute, Islamabad says Afghan-based militants have carried out recent attacks in Pakistan, including suicide bombings involving Afghan nationals. Kabul denies the charge, saying it cannot be held responsible for security inside Pakistan.
Dozens were killed in October’s clashes, the worst violence on the border since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Afghan-Pak relations have soured largely due to Islamabad’s accusations that Kabul is providing sanctuary to several armed groups, including the Pakistan Taliban (TTP).
The TTP has waged a sustained campaign against the Pakistani state since 2007 and is often described as the ideological twin of the Afghan Taliban. Most recently, on Wednesday, a roadside bombing in Pakistan near the Afghan border claimed by the TTP killed three Pakistani police officers.
Pakistan also accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the Balochistan Liberation Army and a local ISIL/ISIS affiliate known as the ISKP – even though the ISKP is a sworn enemy of the Afghan Taliban.
