Calm | Pakistan

Calm returned to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Chaman on Saturday after heavy clashes occurred between the two sides a day earlier. At least three civilians were injured in the clashes last night and were shifted to the district hospital in Chaman. On the Afghan side, five people were injured, according to Afghan government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat. According to officials, Afghan forces fired mortar shells on the Badani area, prompting security forces to retaliate. However, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed it was Pakistan that launched an attack on Spin Boldak, alleging that their forces were responding. Prime Minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, however, confirmed the clashes. In a post on X early Saturday morning, he said, “A short while ago, the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing along the Chaman border. An immediate, befitting & intense response has been given by our armed forces.” “Pakistan remains fully alert & committed to ensuring it...

• Border remains closed for trade and transit for 6th consecutive day • Red Zone area briefly opened to repatriate Afghan refugees QUETTA: Calm prevailed on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border on Saturday after the extension of a ceasefire between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces, with no untoward incident reported from any area of the Chaman sector, where heavy clashes had erupted in the early hours of Tuesday last week. Although the border crossings at Chaman and other entry points have closed for the past six days, Pakistan partially reopened the border in the Red Zone area to facilitate the repatriation of undocumented Afghan refugees. “Under tight security, several hundred Afghan refugee families, including women and children, along with their belongings crossed into the Afghanistan over the past three days, a senior official said. The border was opened for three days, while it remained closed for the other three due to intense fighting at four locations in the Chaman sector,” he added. Following the ...