PESHAWAR: Key border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan were closed on Sunday after fierce clashes erupted overnight following Taliban accusations that Islamabad had carried out air strikes this week, officials said. Neighbouring Afghanistan and Pakistan have had frosty relations since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad accuses authorities there of harboring militants carrying out strikes on its soil, an accusation Afghanistan denies.

Taliban border forces clash with Pakistani forces in retaliation for air strikes, Afghan military confirms.

Escalation comes after Pakistani airstrike in Kabul, with Taliban launching reprisals against military posts