Pakistan, Afghanistan exchange heavy fire along border, officials say

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Dec 5 (Reuters) – Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged heavy fire along their border late on Friday, officials from both countries said, amid heightened tensions following failed peace talks earlier this week.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks in 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 two days after a new round of peace talks between the South Asian neighbours ended without a breakthrough, though 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 aimed at cooling 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.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Saleem Ahmed in Quetta, Pakistan; Writing by Nilutpal Timsina; ediing by Edward Tobin)