Pakistan rejects Afghan claims over Angoor Adda border firing

Afghan security forces opened unprovoked fire on Pakistan Army border posts and residential areas in the Angoor Adda border area of Lower South Waziristan on Tuesday night. The attack killed one local resident and injured five members of a single family when a mortar struck their house. Several shops were also damaged in the firing.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the incident on Wednesday, saying Pakistan would never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty. He praised the armed forces for their swift, forceful and decisive response.

“Pakistan will never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty.”

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting dismissed Afghanistan’s defence ministry statement as a “fabrication of lies.” The ministry said Afghan forces initiated cowardly fire and mortar shelling on unarmed civilians on the Pakistani side.

Afghanistan claimed Pakistani military personnel launched drones targeting the Angoor Adda bazaar and the commissioner’s office in Paktika province without provocation. It said Afghan forces launched retaliatory strikes against a nearby Pakistani military base and outposts.

Pakistan’s fact-checking account said the actions followed the pattern and instructions of their proxy masters India. It added that security forces inflicted heavy casualties and material losses on the Afghan side, including the destruction of seven posts.

The Lower South Waziristan deputy commissioner confirmed the casualties in a post on X around midnight. Pakistan’s security forces gave an immediate and effective response after the Tuesday night firing.

Tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan had risen after clashes on the border in February.