By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD - Renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have killed one civilian and wounded five others in Pakistan's northwestern South Waziristan district, Pakistani officials said on Wednesday.

The latest incident occurred overnight on October 27 in Angoor Adda, a border area of Lower South Waziristan, where Afghan Taliban forces allegedly fired on civilian homes and a local bazaar, damaging several shops, according to the district administration.

The deputy commissioner of Lower South Waziristan said Afghan Taliban forces had fired on civilian houses and the Angoor Adda bazaar during the night of October 27.

One civilian was killed and five others were injured by a mortar round, while several shops sustained damage, the district administration said in a statement posted on the deputy commissioner's official social media account.

Pakistani forces stationed along the border were responding to the attack, the administration added.

A Pakistani official, speaking to The South Asia Times on condition of anonymity, accused Afghan Taliban forces of initiating the firing in an attempt to facilitate the movement of militants across the border into Pakistan.

The official said Pakistani security forces had thwarted the alleged infiltration attempt and responded to the positions from which the firing originated.

The official also accused Afghan Taliban forces of repeatedly targeting civilians in Pakistan's border districts, including Bajaur, Waziristan, Khyber, Mohmand and Kurram districts.

Pakistan's position, the official said, was that its cross-border operations targeted militant hideouts and logistical facilities rather than civilian populations.

However, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid offered a sharply different account of the latest confrontation, accusing Pakistan of initiating hostilities inside Afghanistan.

However, Pakistani security officials rejected the claim and said Taliban forces initiated firing to safely infiltrate the militants, but it was foiled. 

The latest confrontation comes amid an increasingly bitter dispute over civilian casualties resulting from Pakistani military operations inside Afghanistan.

On October 26, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected allegations by Afghan Taliban officials that Pakistani attacks had killed large numbers of civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure.

Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi had claimed that Pakistani attacks had killed 1,119 civilians in Afghanistan since February and struck hospitals, schools and residential areas.

Pakistan described the allegations as baseless and unsubstantiated, rejecting claims that its counterterrorism operations deliberately targeted civilians.

Islamabad said its operations were directed exclusively against militant organisations and their logistical support bases operating inside Afghanistan.

In its statement, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry accused the Afghan Taliban authorities of failing to prevent Afghan territory from being used to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan.

The ministry said militant attacks had caused more than 3,500 casualties in Pakistan during 2026, although the statement did not provide a detailed breakdown of the figure.

Pakistan also cited concerns raised by United Nations monitoring mechanisms about the presence of militant organisations in Afghanistan, specifically naming the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also referred to by Pakistani authorities as Fitna al-Khawarij, and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which Islamabad calls Fitna al-Hindustan, along with their affiliates.

Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of sheltering or facilitating militant groups that operate against it. The Taliban government has disputed Pakistan's allegations and maintains that military action violates Afghanistan's sovereignty.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said its operations were undertaken in exercise of the country's right to self-defence and were guided by necessity, proportionality and precautions intended to protect civilians.

It urged the international community to press the Afghan Taliban authorities to prevent Afghan territory from being used for attacks against other countries.

The security confrontation reflects a broader deterioration in relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, driven by disagreements over militant activity, cross-border attacks and the use of military force.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the TTP of maintaining bases and operational networks in Afghanistan, from where it allegedly plans attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians.

The TTP is a separate armed militant organisation from the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad says the group has intensified its campaign inside Pakistan and benefited from safe havens across the border.

The Afghan Taliban authorities deny allowing Afghan territory to be used to attack neighbouring countries and have called on Pakistan to address its security concerns through dialogue.