An explosion followed by successive gunfire were heard in central Kabul on Sunday, AFP journalists reported, with the Taliban government saying Afghan forces were shooting at a fresh incursion by Pakistani aircraft.
Fighting between the two has escalated in recent days after months of border tensions.
The latest surge began Thursday when Afghanistan launched an offensive along the frontier, prompting retaliatory strikes by Pakistan both along the border and from the air.
“Anti-aircraft fire is being directed at Pakistani aircraft in Kabul,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Sunday, referring to guns being fired overhead.
Pakistan confirmed that it carried out air strikes on Friday targeting major Afghan cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, the latter being home to the country’s supreme leader.
Afghan officials have accused Islamabad of killing civilians in repeated attacks, allegations that Pakistan has yet to address publicly.
In southern Kandahar, construction workers reported that two air strikes struck their site on Sunday. A manager at the location said three people were killed in the attack.
“Everything went dark before our eyes,” said 20-year-old Enamullah, who only gave one name. “I came from Kabul just to earn a piece of bread.”
According to Afghan authorities, Thursday’s cross-border offensive was launched in retaliation for earlier Pakistani air strikes that they say killed civilians.
Pakistan, however, maintains that its operations targeted militant positions.
In addition to fatalities reported in Kandahar, Afghan deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Pakistani fire had killed 30 civilians in the eastern provinces of Khost, Kunar and Paktika since Thursday.
Independent verification of casualty figures from either side has proven difficult.
On the highway linking Kabul to the border, an AFP correspondent in Jalalabad reported hearing a jet overhead and two explosions on Saturday. Afghan security officials claimed they shot down a Pakistani fighter jet and detained its pilot — an assertion Islamabad dismissed as “totally untrue”.
Residents in Paktika told AFP that clashes continued Saturday, while some families in Khost fled their homes near the frontier.
“The bombardments started, children, women, everyone just got out,” said Mohammad Rasool, 63, who had reached another district.
“Some didn’t have shoes, some weren’t veiled,” he told AFP.
Efforts to broker a ceasefire have so far fallen short. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are involved in mediation attempts, while China said it was “working with” both sides and urged restraint.
The United States voiced support for Islamabad. Allison Hooker, the under secretary of state for political affairs, wrote on X following talks with her Pakistani counterpart that Washington backs “Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks”.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration of failing to curb militant groups staging attacks inside Pakistan, a charge denied by Kabul.
Several of the recent assaults have been claimed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has intensified operations since 2021, when Taliban authorities regained control in Kabul.
Analysts note that this week’s escalation marks the first instance in which Pakistan has directed air strikes at Afghan government facilities, representing a departure from previous operations it said were focused solely on militants.
Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, told AFP that gunmen he linked to the Pakistani Taliban had attacked a checkpoint in the northwest, though no group immediately claimed responsibility.
“Pakistan’s immediate and effective response to aggression continues,” Zaidi said Friday, adding that nearly 300 Afghan soldiers and militants had been killed.
Pakistan’s information minister said Saturday that 37 sites across Afghanistan had been struck since the launch of the operation.
Islamabad earlier reported 12 of its soldiers killed in the fighting.
Fitrat said more than 80 Pakistani troops had died and that Afghan forces had seized 27 military posts.
The Afghan government has previously stated that 13 of its soldiers were killed.
Kabul’s defence ministry also announced it conducted air strikes on Pakistani territory over the past two days, which observers suggested may have involved drones.
Pakistan declared “open war” on Friday against the Taliban authorities, while the Afghan government called for “dialogue” to resolve the conflict.
The current wave of violence is the deadliest since clashes in October left more than 70 people dead on both sides. Since then, most land crossings between the two neighbours have remained largely closed.
Multiple rounds of negotiations last year followed a ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Turkey.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia stepped in after repeated violations of the truce, facilitating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
