ANKARA: Four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in an overnight clash between Pakistani and Afghan forces along their shared border, an Afghan official said Friday, in a sign of rising tension between the two as they hold peace talks in Istanbul.
However, a tense calm largely prevailed along the Chaman border in southwest Pakistan, where the two sides briefly exchanged fire Thursday night, with both sides blaming the other for the breach of last month’s ceasefire brokered by Qatar.
In Afghanistan, Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of the Information and Culture Department in Spin Boldak, blamed Pakistan in a statement for initiating the shooting but said Afghan forces did not respond due to the peace talks in Istanbul.
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi on Friday dismissed the Afghan claim, saying Afghanistan initiated the shooting.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said late Thursday on X that “the shooting was initiated from the Afghan side, but the situation was brought under control.” The ministry said a ceasefire brokered by Qatar on Oct. 19 remained intact.
