image source, Reuters
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Pakistan claimed to have killed 331 ‘terrorists’ since the start of the attack in Afghanistan early on Friday till Saturday. They also demanded air strikes and destruction of 104 check posts in 37 places in Afghanistan.
The ongoing tension between the two countries is still ongoing. The situation has not changed much even though the United Nations and various countries have called on both sides to abide by international law and negotiate.
Rather, it can be said that both countries are steadfast in their respective positions.
However, Pakistan made its position a little clearer. The country’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said on Friday that his country was in a situation of “outright war” against Afghanistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman Musharraf Zaidi said Pakistan would not have to “declare war” on Afghanistan, but the border operation would continue until “links between the Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups are severed”.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar has claimed that as part of this campaign, it has been possible to inflict heavy losses on the Afghan Taliban.
He claimed that till the morning of February 28—331 fighters were killed, more than 500 wounded, 104 checkposts were destroyed, 22 checkposts were captured, 163 tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed and effective airstrikes were conducted at 37 locations in Afghanistan.
Ataullah Tarar mentioned that the operation is still going on.
Meanwhile, the Taliban government said 13 civilians were killed in renewed Pakistani shelling and attacks.
Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, said the Pakistani army bombed a makeshift camp for Afghan returnees in Kandahar, killing three workers and injuring seven others.
The camp is located near the Durand Line in Kandahar and is used as a temporary shelter.
Shelling also took place in the center of Asadabad city in Kunar province last night, killing seven civilians and injuring another, Fitrat wrote on Facebook. Among the dead are women and children.
On the other hand, Taliban sources say that three people were killed and eight others were injured in a recent attack by Pakistani militia in Paktika province.
image source, Reuters
‘It’s not a war, but the campaign will continue’
In an interview given to Al Jazeera, Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman Musharraf Zaidi was asked whether Pakistan has declared war on Afghanistan.
Musharraf Zaidi said, “We don’t have to declare war. It is not a war. The war is between two countries”.
“Pakistan is taking steps as per its need to protect the soil and people of Pakistan… from terrorism coming from Afghan soil,” he said.
He claimed that the interim government of Afghan Taliban is supporting the anti-Pakistan extremism in Afghanistan.
Asked how to restore trust between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Zaidi said,
“We will not build trust, but build a ‘wall of fire’ to protect our land and people”.
He also said that the Afghan Taliban and India should restore trust.
A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister said the Taliban must meet the terms of the Doha agreement, under which their territory cannot be used by extremists against any country.
“We will continue these (operations) until the links between the Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups are severed,” Musharraf Zaidi said, adding that if the Afghan Taliban do not destroy the extremists’ bases on their soil, Pakistan will.
image source, EPA
Pakistan is my good friend: Trump
US President Donald Trump has answered the question of whether the United States will intervene in the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict or not.
A reporter asked him outside the White House, “Pakistan has started a war against Afghanistan. Have they asked you to intervene?”
In response, Trump said, he can intervene in the fight.
But he added, “You should know, I have a good friendship with Pakistan. They have a great prime minister, they have a great general, they have a great leader. They are two people that I really respect a lot.”
He said, Pakistan is doing good work.
Making the US position clearer, US State Department Under Secretary for Political Affairs Alison Hooker said, “The United States supports Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks”.
In a message to X, Hooker said he spoke to Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Amina Baloch on Friday night and expressed his condolences over the loss of life in recent clashes between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and support Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks,” he added.
US citizens advised to be cautious
Security forces have increased their presence in Pakistan’s major cities due to rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan and possible terrorist threats. Law enforcement agencies, military installations and large commercial centers are thought to be potential targets for terrorist organizations.
In this situation, the US mission in Pakistan has advised its citizens to exercise extreme caution in these areas, especially during busy hours.
image source, Getty Images
Attacks on police stations and check posts in Pakistan
According to a report by BBC Urdu, police in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said that “terrorists” attacked various police stations and check posts in the province, including Peshawar, on Friday night. A head constable and a civilian were injured in these attacks.
In a statement, a police spokesman said militants attacked police installations using “hand grenades and small arms” in various areas of Khyber and Matni.
Besides, a local bridge was attacked “from different directions using sniper rifles”.
The statement added that when an outpost was attacked, the police “retaliated by firing back” and that the firing “continued for 15 minutes”.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police say all these attacks have been repelled and countermeasures have been taken against the militants.
Inspector General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Zulfikar Hamid said,
“These miscreants only know how to attack from behind the bushes, they don’t have the courage to come forward and fight. When they get a strong response from the police, they run away like cowards.”
In another report, BBC Urdu reported that extremist groups banned in Pakistan—TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Ittehadul Mujahideen—have threatened to intensify attacks in the country.
The messages circulated in the name of these groups on social media referred to the ongoing Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict and ordered their fighters to intensify attacks on Pakistan.
In their statements, these groups expressed their condolences to Afghanistan.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have yet to comment on these statements.
Meanwhile, Near the Durand Line Following the Taliban attack, Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government imposed a 30-day ban on drone flights there.
Taliban claim attack on Pakistani military base
A spokesman for the Taliban government’s Border Police said Taliban forces targeted Pakistani military installations in Torkham in response to a “retaliatory attack” by Pakistan, causing “heavy casualties”.
In a statement, Abidullah Faruqi said their forces were “ready to defend the country with high morale”.
He also said that Afghan forces in Torkham destroyed a military tower, including a base, after the Pakistani attack on the facility.
Pakistan has yet to respond to these statements by the Taliban government.
https://www.bbc.com/bengali/articles/cev71mze42jo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
