Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has warned the Afghan Taliban administration that Pakistan will not tolerate attacks on its citizens or violations of its sovereignty following a firing incident in the Angoor Adda border area of Lower South Waziristan.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night when Afghan security forces allegedly opened unprovoked fire on Pakistan Army border posts and nearby residential areas. A local resident was killed and five members of a family were injured after a mortar shell struck their house.
The deputy commissioner of Lower South Waziristan confirmed the casualties in a post on X, adding that several shops were also damaged during the firing.
“Pakistan’s forces on the border have and are responding effectively and heavily,” the official said in a post published around midnight.
On Wednesday morning, Governor Kundi strongly condemned what he described as “unprovoked and blatant aggression by the Afghan Taliban regime against civilian homes and Angoor Adda Bazaar in Lower South Waziristan”.
He praised Pakistan’s armed forces for their swift response and issued a direct warning to the Afghan Taliban administration.
“I salute Pakistan’s armed forces for their swift, forceful and decisive response. Let the Afghan Taliban regime have no illusions: Pakistan will never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty,” Kundi said.
The governor highlighted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, stating that thousands of lives had been lost and that the province would not allow threats to its population or security.
He added that any aggression against Pakistan would be met with a firm response, stressing that the armed forces had the nation’s full support in defending the country’s territory.
Samar Haroon Bilour, adviser to the KP governor on information and public relations, also condemned the incident in a post on X, saying the attackers had once again targeted the area under the cover of darkness. She warned that they would face consequences.
The firing from the Afghan side prompted an immediate response from Pakistani security forces.
According to officials, the shots originated from positions inside Afghan territory and targeted Pakistani border posts with sniper fire and light and heavy weapons.
Security sources said Pakistani forces retaliated by targeting several Afghan Taliban border posts, mortar positions and defensive bunkers using small arms, heavy weapons and artillery. They claimed the intense and precise response forced Afghan Taliban personnel to abandon their positions.
Angoor Adda is considered an important and sensitive crossing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The area serves as a trade route and a key passage for people travelling between the two countries.
Cross-border firing incidents have repeatedly raised security concerns along the frontier.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained in recent years, primarily over Islamabad’s concerns about militant attacks originating from Afghan territory.
Tensions escalated again in September following a series of security incidents along the border.
On September 21, Pakistan conducted what officials described as calibrated airstrikes in the border region of Afghanistan following major terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The government said more than 28 militants were killed in the operation.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the action was part of Operation Ghazab lil Haq, launched on February 26 in response to what Pakistan described as unprovoked cross-border firing by Afghan Taliban forces.
In subsequent incidents, Pakistani security forces reportedly intercepted eight drones launched from across the border that entered Pakistani airspace near Torkham and Kohat. Officials also reported firing near Kurram as security personnel prevented an alleged attempt by militants to cross into Pakistan.
In response to the drone incursions, Pakistan carried out what officials described as precision air and drone strikes at 10 locations in Afghanistan.
The Foreign Office subsequently said a diplomatic demarche had been delivered to the Afghan side on September 26 over a reported drone-related airspace violation on September 23.
On October 1, Pakistan conducted further airstrikes against alleged militant hideouts at two locations in Afghanistan. The Information Ministry said the operation resulted in the deaths of several militants.
Around mid-October, Pakistani security forces again responded to reported firing by Afghan Taliban forces along the border in Upper Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
State media, citing security sources, reported that several Afghan Taliban personnel were killed during retaliatory action near the Ghuzgarhi border. The sources also said Pakistani forces targeted the Topsar post and Shipola base camp with artillery, claiming the latter was completely destroyed.
The latest border clashes came a day after Pakistan’s Foreign Office reiterated that negotiations with Afghanistan could not proceed unconditionally. However, Islamabad rejected claims that it was unwilling to engage with Kabul and said it would welcome sincere efforts by friendly countries to help resolve the dispute.
