Fire Erupts In Afghanistan's Torkham After Pakistani Forces Strike

(MENAFN- IANS) Kabul, March 8 (IANS) A fire erupted at a commercial market in Torkham area of Afghanistan following a massive strike by Pakistani forces, causing damage to businesses and property, local media reported on Sunday citing officials.

Torkham Mayor Mawlawi Abdullah Mustafa said that several shells were fired towards the town at around 4 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, which struck near a commercial market area, Khaama Press reported, citing Bakhtawar News Agency.

The firing caused a fire that quickly spread through several shops, forcing firefighters and residents to work together to control the flames.

Officials said four fire trucks municipal water tankers and local volunteers had been deployed to control the fire, however, the fire had not yet been fully brought under control.

So far, over 150 shops have been destroyed in the fire, with estimated economic loss reaching nearly 300 million Afghanistan, according to the owner of the market complex.

The Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Afghanistan is one of the busiest trade roads and plays an important part in movement of goods and people between two nations.

The ongoing confrontation underscores the deepening instability along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where clashes and casualty claims continue to strain ties between two nations.

Local residents and traders have demanded greater protection of people in residential areas, warning that continued cross-border violence threatens livelihoods and economic activity in the already fragile border region, Khaama Press reported.

Earlier on Friday, Afghan authorities said that Taliban forces killed 30 Pakistani soldiers during clashes erupted along the Durand Line border, local media reported, citing a defence ministry spokesperson.

Taliban defence ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said the fighting took place in Shorabak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, where Taliban fighters allegedly captured a Pakistani military outpost, Pakistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.

He said Taliban forces destroyed the outpost with explosives after Taliban forces captured the post during the clashes.

Khwarazmi claimed that 30 Pakistani soldiers were killed during the fighting, including 20 who were deployed for reinforcing the outpost. He stated that Taliban fighters captured five Pakistani military posts in the Dand Patan area of Paktia and entered posts Top Sar Khwuch Karam and Anzerki Sar.

The current round of hostilities began when Taliban-led Afghan forces launched retaliatory operations against Pakistani military installations on February 27, following Pakistan’s actions targeting militants inside Afghan territory on February 21. Following Afghanistan’s attacks, Pakistan launched ‘Operation Ghazab lil-Haq’ (Righteous Fury) in response to what it described as “unprovoked firing” by the Afghan forces across multiple border sectors.

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