ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan on Wednesday dismissed the Afghan Taliban regime’s account of this week’s clash at Angoor Adda as “fabricated”, saying Kabul’s forces fired first on civilians and that Pakistani troops destroyed seven Afghan Taliban posts in response.
The Afghan Taliban’s defence ministry had claimed on X that Pakistani forces carried out “four strikes on the Commissioner’s Office and nearby security installations”, and that Afghan forces hit back at a Pakistani military base and outposts.
In a fact-check statement, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the claim was the regime’s “latest fabrication of lies” and again confirmed its “deceitful character”. “Fact of the matter is that their cowardly forces initiated unprovoked fire and mortar shelling on unarmed civilians on Pakistani side, following pattern and instructions of their proxy masters, India,” it said.
The ministry said the “immediate, effective and disproportionate response” by Pakistan’s security forces had silenced the Taliban guns and inflicted heavy casualties, along with material losses that included the destruction of seven posts. It said the statements of the regime’s “so-called official spokespersons” carried no value and were aimed mostly at Afghans living under its rule.
‘Have no illusions’
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned what he called the “unprovoked and blatant aggression” against homes and the Angoor Adda bazaar in Lower South Waziristan. “Let the Afghan Taliban regime have no illusions: Pakistan will never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty,” he said on X, saluting the armed forces for their “swift, forceful and decisive response”.
The fighting began on Tuesday night when mortar fire from across the border killed one civilian and wounded five members of the same family in Angoor Adda, prompting the army to destroy several Afghan Taliban checkposts, as The Thursday Times reported.
A tense frontier
Angoor Adda has seen repeated cross-border violence this year. Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in late February after Afghan Taliban forces fired on several border locations, and the two sides agreed a week-long ceasefire on March 18 after appeals from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. At talks in Urumqi, China, in April, Pakistan demanded that Kabul formally declare the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan a terrorist organisation, dismantle its infrastructure and provide verifiable proof of action.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban regime of sheltering terrorists who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the charge.
