"But on Thursday night, Kabul was rocked by explosions and gunfire. Pakistan neither confirmed nor denied involvement, but the Taliban government said Pakistan had been behind the attacks in Kabul and in an eastern Afghan province, and promised retaliation. Fighting flared again on Saturday night. Pakistan acknowledged that the clashes left at least 23 of its soldiers dead and another 29 injured, and said its forces had taken control of more than 21 posts on Afghan territory."
"When Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, visited Kabul in April and met his Afghan Taliban counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, analysts viewed the occasion as marking a reset of relations amid the increasing hostilities between the two former allies. Subsequent meetings between the two in May and August, brokered by China, reinforced that sentiment. But a deadly weekend of clashes along the countries' porous border has put those diplomatic overtures on hold."
Pakistan pursued diplomatic outreach with the Afghan Taliban through visits by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and China-brokered meetings in May and August. A deadly weekend of cross-border clashes interrupted those contacts. Islamabad reported killing more than 200 Taliban fighters while the Taliban reported 58 Pakistani soldiers killed. Pakistan accused the Taliban of sheltering armed groups that launch cross-border attacks; the Taliban denied those charges. Explosions and gunfire hit Kabul, with the Taliban blaming Pakistan and vowing retaliation. Pakistan later acknowledged at least 23 soldiers killed, 29 injured, and that its forces had taken control of more than 21 posts on Afghan territory, creating parallels with tensions with India.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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