Afghan Taliban forces fired mortars into a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday. The cross-border shelling killed one civilian and wounded five others, a Pakistani government official said.
The artillery attack struck a bazaar in South Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan frontier. Local officials reported that the shelling damaged several shops in the market.
Pakistani forces stationed along the border responded to the bombardment heavily, a local administrator stated on social media. Authorities in Kabul did not immediately comment on the incident, and the exact trigger for the fire was unclear.
The border skirmish erupted just days after Islamabad pressed Kabul to take action against armed groups. Pakistan accuses these militants of using Afghan soil to stage attacks within Pakistani territory.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the incident. He described the actions of the Afghan Taliban as unprovoked aggression directed at civilian homes and the Angoor Adda bazaar in Lower South Waziristan.
Kundi praised the military response from Pakistan and stressed the heavy sacrifices made by his province in combating terrorism. Pakistan will never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty, Kundi stated in a formal release.
Tensions between the two nations have escalated over the past year. Repeated border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan have deepened a dispute over militant activities.
Islamabad maintains that the Afghan Taliban provides sanctuary to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, known as the TTP, and the separatist Baloch Liberation Army. The Pakistani Taliban remain allied with the ruling administration in Afghanistan while operating as a distinct entity.
Officials in Kabul have denied accusations that they permit militants to launch cross-border attacks from Afghan territory. Pakistan has experienced a surge in domestic violence in recent years, placing the blame largely on the TTP and allied factions.
Militant groups frequently target Pakistani security forces in these remote regions. Authorities state these groups have grown emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
