Afghan Taliban authorities announced Friday that Pakistani forces struck a fuel storage facility belonging to Kam Air, a private airline, located close to Kandahar airport, signaling a renewed escalation in the severe border dispute between the neighboring nations.
The cross-border violence began last month when Pakistani military forces launched aerial attacks within Afghan territory, which Pakistan justified as operations targeting militant bases. Afghan officials condemned these strikes as violations of their national sovereignty and responded with counter-attacks.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid explained that the targeted facility serves both commercial aviation and United Nations flights. “The company (Kam Air) supplies fuel to civilian airlines as well as to United Nations aircraft,” Mujahid stated.
According to Mujahid, Pakistani forces also conducted bombing operations in additional locations, including Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, resulting in casualties among women and children when residential areas were hit. He warned that this aggression would “not go unanswered.”
Prior to this recent incident, both nations had not documented any Pakistani aerial operations against Afghanistan for several days, and combat activity along their 2,600-kilometer shared border had diminished.
Pakistani military officials have not provided any response to requests for statements regarding these allegations.
The root of tensions between these former allies centers on militant activity, with Pakistan claiming that Afghanistan harbors extremist groups responsible for attacks on Pakistani soil. Afghan Taliban leadership rejects these accusations, maintaining that Pakistan’s militant problems are domestic issues.
Chinese mediation efforts aimed at ending the violence had reportedly helped reduce hostilities between the countries, according to Thursday reports. Pakistani foreign ministry representative Tahir Andrabi confirmed that Pakistan and China were participating in diplomatic discussions regarding Afghanistan.
