Afghanistan and Pakistan exchanged their deadliest hearth in years. Right here’s what we all know

Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have flared in current days with the alternate of lethal gunfire between the neighbors that has stoked fears of a wider battle.

The preventing adopted strikes within the Afghan capital Kabul and the border province of Paktika final Thursday that the Taliban blamed on Pakistan, although Islamabad has not formally acknowledged the assaults.

The most recent flare-up coincided with a historic journey by Taliban International Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Pakistan’s rival India, triggering concern in Islamabad.

Consultants warn these newest assaults may sign a brand new period of instability for the neighbors, who’ve maintained regular and strategic relations for years regardless of frequent skirmishes alongside their disputed border.

Right here’s what we all know in regards to the violence, which prompted calls to de-escalate from China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and a proposal from US President Donald Trump to dealer peace.

Sharpest escalation in years

The Taliban accused Pakistan of conducting an “unprecedented, violent and reprehensible” assault on targets in Kabul and Patika on Thursday night time.

Islamabad has not formally claimed accountability for the assaults. However throughout a press briefing Friday, Lt. Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a Pakistani army official, stated there may be “proof” that “Afghanistan is getting used as a base of operations for finishing up terrorism in Pakistan.”

Pakistan has lengthy accused Kabul of harboring the militant group the Pakistani Taliban (referred to as the TTP), which Afghanistan’s Taliban denies. Pakistan has confronted a surge in Islamist violence because the Taliban swept Kabul in 2021, emboldening militant teams.