Pakistan has rejected allegations by Afghanistan’s Taliban administration regarding the Angoor Adda border incident, describing them as fabricated claims and accusing Afghan forces of initiating unprovoked firing on Pakistani border positions and civilian areas.
According to Pakistani officials, Afghan security forces opened fire on Pakistan Army border posts and residential areas in Lower South Waziristan on Tuesday, violating established border protocols. The incident reportedly killed one local resident and injured five others, prompting a response from Pakistani security forces.
Following the incident, Afghanistan’s defence ministry alleged that Pakistani military personnel had launched drones targeting the Angoor Adda bazaar and the commissioner’s office in Paktika province without justification. It further claimed that Afghan forces had retaliated by striking a nearby Pakistani military base and border posts.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the allegations in a statement issued through its fact-checking account on X, calling the Afghan administration’s account a fabrication.
The ministry maintained that Afghan forces had initiated the confrontation by firing weapons and mortars at civilians on the Pakistani side of the border. It also alleged that the actions followed a pattern encouraged by India, a claim that was not independently verified.
According to the ministry, Pakistani security forces responded promptly, inflicting casualties and material losses on the Afghan side and destroying seven border posts.
The ministry dismissed statements issued by Afghan officials as misleading and accused the Taliban administration of repeatedly circulating what it described as fabricated accounts of security incidents.
Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the firing from the Afghan side and warned that Pakistan would not tolerate attacks on its citizens or violations of its territorial sovereignty.
Kundi said the province had sacrificed thousands of lives in the fight against terrorism and would not allow any hostile activity to threaten public safety or national security.
He added that Pakistan’s armed forces had the full support of the nation in defending the country’s territory and responding to aggression.
Officials said the firing originated from positions inside Afghan territory and targeted Pakistani border posts with light and heavy weapons.
Pakistani forces reportedly responded by engaging several Afghan Taliban positions, mortar sites and defensive bunkers with small arms and artillery. Pakistani sources described the counteraction as intense and precise, claiming that Afghan personnel abandoned several positions.
These operational claims have not been independently verified.
Angoor Adda is an important crossing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, serving as a route for trade and civilian movement between the two countries.
Security incidents along the frontier have remained a source of tension as Islamabad and Kabul continue to disagree over counterterrorism efforts and the presence of militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
Pakistan has repeatedly called on the Afghan Taliban administration to take verifiable and lasting action against militant sanctuaries, particularly those associated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad says are used to organise attacks inside Pakistan.
Pakistani officials maintain that their concerns have not been adequately addressed by the authorities in Kabul.
The latest incident follows a series of cross-border clashes and military operations in recent months.
On September 21, Pakistan reportedly conducted targeted airstrikes near the Afghan border following major terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The government said the strikes targeted militant hideouts and resulted in the deaths of more than 28 suspected terrorists.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the operation as part of Operation Ghazab lil Haq, launched on February 26 following cross-border firing by Afghan Taliban forces, according to Pakistani officials.
Later in September, Pakistan said it intercepted eight drones that had entered its airspace near the Torkham crossing and Kohat. Reports also described firing near Kurram as security forces attempted to prevent militants from crossing into Pakistani territory.
In response to the drone incursions, Pakistan reportedly carried out precision air and drone strikes at 10 locations in Afghanistan. The Foreign Office subsequently said it had delivered a formal diplomatic protest to the Afghan side over an alleged airspace violation on September 23.
On October 1, Pakistan’s information ministry announced further targeted airstrikes against suspected militant hideouts in Afghanistan, reporting that multiple militants had been killed.
Around mid-October, Pakistani security forces also responded to firing by Afghan Taliban forces along the border in Upper Kurram. According to security sources, Pakistani forces targeted positions in the Ghuzgarhi border area, including the Topsar post and Shipola base camp.
The latest border confrontation comes amid continued diplomatic uncertainty. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said that negotiations with Afghanistan cannot proceed without conditions, while maintaining that Islamabad remains open to engagement and welcomes genuine mediation efforts by friendly countries.
The recurring clashes underscore the continuing strain in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, particularly over border security, militant activity and competing claims regarding responsibility for cross-border attacks.
