Islamabad, Oct 26, (dpa/GNA) – At least five Pakistani soldiers were killed in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, in the latest flare-up of violence along the volatile border, shared by the two countries, the military said on Sunday.
The military’s media wing ISPR said, the two large groups of militants tried to infiltrate from two different locations of Afghanistan-Pakistan border in the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
At least 25 militants including four suicide bombers were killed, it said.
Cross-border attacks, a long-standing source of friction between Islamabad and Kabul, come at a time when officials from the two countries meet behind closed doors in Istanbul for talks on lasting peace, following the recent ceasefire.
Earlier this month, the neighbours had their worst border clashes in decades and a ceasefire was brokered in Doha. The second round started on Saturday with Islamabad saying failure could lead to “open war.” It remains unclear how long the officials will continue their talks in Istanbul.
The military said the timing of the “infiltration attempts” by militants “cast doubts on intentions of interim Afghan government with regards to addressing the issue of emanating from its soil.”
The military referred to the Doha agreement and asked the interim Afghan government, to “fulfil its obligations and deny the use of its soil” against Pakistan.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said, he would get the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan solved “very quickly.”
Addressing the border dispute on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit, Trump claimed his administration had ended eight wars in eight months.
“Although I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up, but I’ll get that solved very quickly,” Trump said.
GNA