Between Afghanistan and Pakistan, clashes continue, explosions heard in Kabul

In “open war”according to Islamabad, Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to clash, Sunday 1^is March. Multiple explosions were heard in the evening in Kabul by journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP), with the ruling Taliban claiming to have responded to Pakistani airstrikes.

The spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defense said on X that the anti-aircraft defense had carried out fire on “Pakistani planes” above the Afghan capital. Afghanistan and Pakistan also continue to clash along their border, residents of these regions and Afghan officials reported to AFP on Sunday. Residents of several Afghan border areas reported nighttime fighting to AFP. Three civilians were killed in drone and artillery strikes, authorities said.

After months of skirmishes, the two countries went to war on Thursday when Afghan soldiers launched an attack in border areas, provoking Pakistani aerial bombardments in retaliation. Pakistan declared a “open war” to the Taliban authorities, accusing them of sheltering armed militants who launch attacks on its territory, which Kabul denies.

Nearly 40 deaths recorded in Afghanistan

Pakistan admitted on Friday to having bombed Kabul and Kandahar, a southern city where the supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada, resides, reclusive. Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of civilian casualties in rural Kandahar. Construction workers there reported being targeted by two airstrikes, which left three people dead, according to the site manager.

Thirty-six other civilians have died since Thursday in the provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika, according to Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government.

Attempts at mediation, notably by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have failed. The United States has said it supports Pakistan in its right to “defend against Taliban attacks”.