Daijiworld Media Network - Islamabad/Kabul

Islamabad/Kabul, Mar 3: Pakistani and Afghan troops clashed at multiple points along their 2,600-km border on Tuesday as the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said 42 civilians had been killed so far in the six-day conflict.

The two South Asian neighbours have engaged in their worst fighting in years after Pakistan launched air strikes on major Afghan cities last week, escalating tensions in a region already destabilised by ongoing hostilities involving Iran, the United States and Israel.

Islamabad has fired air-to-ground missiles at Taliban military sites and directly targeted facilities linked to the Taliban government, accusing it of harbouring militants responsible for cross-border attacks on Pakistan. The Taliban has denied supporting such groups.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that air strikes were carried out on Bagram air base, located north of Kabul and once a key American command centre during the 20-year Afghan war.

“We had intelligence that there was ammunition and critical equipment being used by terrorists to fight the Pakistan army along the border as well as by Afghan Taliban troops,” Tarar said, marking the first official acknowledgement of the strikes.

Afghan police had earlier claimed that an attack on Bagram was repelled using anti-aircraft guns. A senior Pakistani security source warned that strikes would continue until Afghanistan takes concrete action against militants operating from its soil, adding that top Taliban leadership could be targeted if demands are not met.

Afghanistan’s defence ministry said Taliban forces captured a Pakistani military post in the Kandahar region, while Pakistan reported fighting at more than two dozen locations along the border.

Pakistani security sources also claimed destruction of a weapons storage facility in Jalalabad and a military base in Nangarhar province. Both sides reported heavy losses inflicted on the other, though independent verification remains unavailable.

UNAMA stated that 42 civilians were killed and 104 injured in “indirect fire in cross-border clashes” between February 26 and March 2, based on preliminary figures. Tarar rejected the toll, alleging that militants often operate in civilian attire and that the UN relies on Taliban-provided information.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, addressing a joint session of parliament, said Islamabad would not allow any entity to use neighbouring territory to destabilise the country.

UNAMA called for an immediate halt to hostilities, warning that the violence has displaced around 16,400 households and further worsened conditions for Afghans already reeling from earthquakes in August and September that killed over 1,400 people.

The mission also cautioned that ongoing fighting and movement restrictions in border areas have hampered humanitarian operations and delivery of life-saving aid to affected communities.