Pakistan rejected the claims made by Kabul and said security forces gave a swift and effective response after some elements from Afghanistan resorted to unprovoked fire at Pakistani posts in Chaman.
In a statement, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said firing had started from Afghanistan and the responsible response by Pakistan’s security forces resulted in controlling the situation.
“We strongly reject claims circulated by the Afghan side regarding today’s incident at the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman,” said the ministry in a statement shared through social media platform X.
“Firing was initiated from the Afghan side, to which our security forces responded immediately in a measured and responsible manner,” it added.
The ministry said, “The situation was brought under control due to responsible action by Pakistani forces and the ceasefire remains intact”.
In backdrop of latest round of talks in Istanbul, the statement read, “Pakistan remains committed to ongoing dialogue and expects reciprocity from Afghan authorities.”
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Turkiye for the role it is playing in facilitating the Pakistan-Afghan talks, as the latest round of dialogue began in Istanbul.
On Wednesday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif hoped that there would be some progress in Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, but also noted that the entire exercise would be waste of time in case there was no headway.
Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Monday said the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had only two choices: either take action against the terrorists present on Afghan soil or hand them over to Pakistan.
