Afghanistan has never recognized the 2,790-kilometer-long Durand Line as the official border with Pakistan. Since storming to power in Kabul last August, the Taliban* has opposed Pakistan’s efforts to fence the Durand Line. Taliban fighters and the Pakistani Army have also clashed with each other over differing perceptions of the boundary line.
Taliban border guards have cut the fence at the Durand Line and crossed over into Pakistan, as per a recent video circulating on social media.
The footage surfaced amid renewed tensions following deadly clashes between the two sides on Tuesday that left three Pakistani soldiers dead.
Taliban deputy spokesperson Bilal Karimi said on Wednesday that the fatal border clashes with Pakistani troops in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa erupted after the group’s fighters objected to the installation of a border post by the Pakistan Army.
Karimi said that erecting outposts at the Durand Line isn’t permitted as per existing border protocol.
Without naming names, the Pakistani Army, on the other hand, blamed “terrorists” reportedly operating from across the border in Afghanistan for Tuesday’s clashes.
A statement by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media department of the Pakistani Army, claimed that the “terrorists suffered heavy casualties” during the border encounter.
* The Taliban is under UN sanctions over terrorist activities
Source: Sputnik
