Afghanistan says 28 fighters killed as Islamabad, Kabul trade accusations

Relations strain further as Afghanistan and Pakistan trade accusations over terrorism and cross-border violence.

Taliban security personnel at a damaged house following a Pakistani air raid in the Gurbuz district of Afghanistan [File: AFP]

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence said its forces killed 28 fighters in the eastern province of Nuristan who had crossed the border from Pakistan.

In a statement posted to X, the Taliban’s defence ministry confirmed it had engaged in clashes with the opposing group on Sunday.

list 1 of 3 Pakistani forces kill Afghan Taliban fighters in border escalation

list 2 of 3 Houthi attack on Mecca, Medina would cross ‘red line’, Pakistan PM tells UN

list 3 of 3 Why is violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan recurring?

The defence ministry alleged that most of the fighters were former Afghan government security personnel recruited by Pakistan’s intelligence services with promises of asylum and well-paid employment in foreign countries.

The defence ministry claimed the fighters included ISIL (ISIS) fighters who were supported by Pakistani militias.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the allegations, describing them in a post on X as “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth”.

Pakistan denied that its security forces or intelligence agencies were involved in clashes in Nuristan, had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel, or had facilitated ISIL (ISIS) or other armed groups in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s information ministry also said the Taliban “should take credible and verifiable action against terrorist organisations operating from its territory” and fulfil its obligation so that “Afghan soil will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan or any other country rather than attempting to deflect responsibility through fabricated accusations”.

The clashes follow increasing tension between the two countries.

Last week, Pakistan launched air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan it said were used to store and launch drones, some of which were used in cross-border attacks.

The Pakistani air strikes on Thursday killed at least four people, a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government said while promising to deliver an “appropriate response”.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of sheltering fighters who attack its territory, a charge Kabul denies.

Sunday’s incident also follows Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan on September 21 that Islamabad said killed 28 fighters. Afghan officials said civilians were killed and the U.N. mission in Afghanistan confirmed three civilian deaths.

阿富汗和巴基斯坦就恐怖主义和跨境暴力事件互相指责，两国关系进一步紧张。

巴基斯坦空袭后，阿富汗古尔布兹地区一栋受损房屋内的塔利班安全人员 [图片：法新社]

阿富汗国防部称，其部队在东部努尔斯坦省击毙了 28 名从巴基斯坦越境的武装分子。

塔利班国防部在X网站上发表声明，证实周日与反对派发生了冲突。

巴基斯坦军队在边境冲突升级中击毙阿富汗塔利班武装分子（共3条记录，第1条）

巴基斯坦总理告诉联合国，胡塞武装对麦加和麦地那的袭击将越过“红线”，这是三项袭击中的第二项。

问题 3（共 3 题）：巴基斯坦和阿富汗之间暴力冲突为何反复发生？

国防部声称，大多数武装分子是阿富汗前政府安全人员，他们被巴基斯坦情报部门招募，并被承诺给予庇护和在国外获得高薪工作。

国防部声称，这些武装分子包括得到巴基斯坦民兵支持的“伊斯兰国”（ISIS）武装分子。

巴基斯坦新闻和广播部驳斥了这些指控，并在 X 网站上发帖称其“轻率、毫无根据且毫无事实依据”。

巴基斯坦否认其安全部队或情报机构参与了努尔斯坦的冲突，否认招募或训练了阿富汗前安全人员，也否认其为伊斯兰国（ISIS）或阿富汗境内的其他武装团体提供便利。

巴基斯坦新闻部也表示，塔利班“应该对在其境内活动的恐怖组织采取可信和可核查的行动”，履行其义务，以确保“阿富汗领土不被用于对巴基斯坦或任何其他国家实施恐怖主义，而不是试图通过捏造的指控来推卸责任”。

冲突发生之际，两国之间的紧张局势正在加剧。

上周，巴基斯坦对阿富汗境内 10 个地点发动空袭，称这些地点被用来储存和发射无人机，其中一些无人机被用于跨境袭击。

阿富汗塔利班政府发言人表示，巴基斯坦周四的空袭造成至少四人死亡，并承诺将做出“适当的回应”。

巴基斯坦多次指责阿富汗庇护袭击其领土的武装分子，但喀布尔方面否认了这一指控。

周日的这起事件也发生在巴基斯坦9月21日对阿富汗发动空袭之后。伊斯兰堡方面称，空袭造成28名武装分子死亡。阿富汗官员则表示有平民伤亡，联合国驻阿富汗特派团也证实有3名平民死亡。