KABUL/ KARACHI: Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire along their border on Tuesday, with each side accusing the other of initiating the clash, days after Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan strained already tenuous ties.
The incident marks the latest flare-up along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border, where tensions have risen since Pakistan’s strikes on Saturday and Sunday and threaten a fragile ceasefire following deadly clashes in October.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister, told Reuters the Afghan Taliban authorities had initiated “unprovoked firing” in the Torkham and Tirah sub-sectors along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
“Pakistan’s security forces responded immediately and effectively, silencing the Taliban aggression,” Zaidi said, warning that any further provocation would be met “immediately and severely.”
Afghan officials gave a different account, saying Pakistani forces opened fire and that Afghan troops responded.
