Ceasefire at risk as Pakistan and Afghanistan report cross-border attacks

Pakistan and Afghanistan have accused one another of launching new cross-border attacks.

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Monday that four people were killed in attacks in the eastern Kunar province. Pakistani officials reported at least three civilians were injured by gunfire in South Waziristan.

The resumption of violence threatens fragile peace talks between the neighbours. The two countries agreed on a fragile ceasefire in March that halted weeks of deadly violence.

The Taliban’s Deputy ⁠Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat ⁠said that the Pakistani military had launched mortar ⁠and rocket attacks that wounded 45 people.

He said that students, women, and children were among those injured as homes and the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani ⁠University in Kunar province’s capital Asadabad came under fire.

“We strongly condemn these attacks by the Pakistani military regime, in which ordinary people, academic, and educational institutions were targeted, and declare them unforgivable war crimes,” the spokesman wrote on social media.

Pakistan’s Information Ministry dismissed the report as ‌a “blatant lie” and insisted that there had been no attack on the university.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the country’s border forces described the incident in South Waziristan as the most serious clash since the ceasefire was declared.

Fraught cross-border relations

The strikes marked the first major attack since the pair had agreed to halt the violence at peace talks last month, mediated by China.

Turkey, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have also made efforts to halt the conflict, with relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan fraught since the Taliban took power for a second time in 2021.

Security issues have proved a sticking point, especially Pakistan’s demand that Afghanistan curb the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) armed group, which has conducted regular deadly attacks from its bases in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in violence within the country in recent years, including suicide bombings and coordinated assaults targeting security forces.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of sheltering the TTP. However, Kabul rejects the charge, countering that it is Pakistan that harbours hostile groups and does not respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

The border between the neighbours has remained largely closed since deadly cross-border violence in October froze bilateral trade.

The heaviest fighting in years was sparked in February after Afghanistan launched an operation against the Pakistani military along the 2,640km (1,640-mile) Durand Line, which separates the two nations.