Families living along the Pakistan-Afghan border are reportedly considering the difficult decision to leave their homes as intense shelling and explosions mark the seventh straight day of cross-border conflict.
Escalation between the former allies has reached its most volatile point in years after Pakistani airstrikes hit several Afghan cities last week. According to a Reuters report, this increase in violence is adding to the instability of a region already strained by broader geopolitical strikes involving USA, Israel and Iran.
Kabul accused of supporting terrorists
Islamabad claims that its military actions, which have occasionally targeted the Taliban by the direct government, are necessary to eliminate Afghan support for the militants who attack them Pakistan.
Conversely, the Taliban has consistently denied providing any aid to such insurgent groups.
Civilians bear the brunt
Residents of northwest Pakistan report that fighting usually intensifies in the evening. This often puts families directly in the line of fire at sunset – just as they gather to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
Around 1,500 families reportedly fled their homes to escape heavy artillery and explosions.
“There is total silence during the day, but the moment we sit down for iftar dinner, both sides start shelling,” said Farid Khan Shinwari from Landi Kotal, a town near the Torkham border crossing. Reuters. “We break the fast in extremely difficult situations because you never know when a shell might hit your house.”
On the Afghan side, hundreds of displaced individuals are sheltering in makeshift tents in open fields, while many others remain without any form of shelter.
Fighting along the 2,600 km long border fluctuated throughout the week. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan claim to have seized territory and inflicted significant casualties on the opposing side.
On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s defense ministry said its forces had shot down a Pakistani drone and captured seven border posts. The ministry further reported a staggering death toll: 110 civilians killed (including 65 women and children) and 123 wounded.
While the UN mission has so far confirmed 42 dead, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar disputed the figures.
Tarar said, “Pakistan is taking great care to target only terrorists and support infrastructure. No civilian structures have been targeted.”
Erdogan offers to broker a ceasefire
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has offered to help negotiate a truce, communicating the intention to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while other regional mediators deal with conflicts in the Persian Gulf.
Minister Tarar noted that Pakistan on Saturday targeted “munitions and critical equipment” at the Bagram Air Base north of Kabul, a site that previously served as a central US command hub during the two decades of the Afghan war.
Afghanistan
