5 Pakani soldiers killed in border clashes with militants during Afghanan talks | World News

The clashes took place on Friday and Saturday in Kurram and North Waziran dricts. (File Photo)

Pakan’s military said on Sunday that five soldiers and 25 militants were killed in fighting near the border with Afghanan, as officials from both countries met in anbul to reduce rising tensions, news agency Reuters reported.

The clashes took place on Friday and Saturday in Kurram and North Waziran dricts, areas along Pakan’s northwestern frontier. The military said the militants crossed into Pakan from Afghanan.
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In a statement reported Reuters, Pakan’s military said the attempts to cross the border raised questions about the Afghan government’s approach to groups operating from its territory, saying it cast doubt on Kabul’s “intentions in regards to addressing the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil”.

However, as per Reuters report, Afghan officials did not respond to requests for comment. The Taliban government has previously said it does not give shelter to militants and has accused Pakan of violating Afghan sovereignty with military strikes.

Pakan’s Defence Miner Khawaja Asif said on Saturday that a recent truce was still in place and that Afghanan wanted peace, but he warned that failure to agree in anbul would mean

Talks in anbul come after major clashes between their forces earlier this month the most serious since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021. Those clashes included artillery exchanges and Pakani airstrikes before both sides reached a temporary truce in Doha last week.

Pakan’s military described those involved in the recent infiltration as members of “Fitna al Khwarij”, a term it uses for groups inspired militant ideology and backed what it calls “foreign sponsors”.

Pakan says fighters based inside Afghanan have carried out attacks on its soil in recent months. It has called on the Taliban to act against groups that Pakan believes are using Afghan territory as a base. Relations between the neighbours have worsened since 2021, despite efforts to maintain cooperation along their long, porous border.

(With inputs from Reuters)