ISLAMABAD: Two Pakistani soldiers were shot dead and five injured by fire from Afghanistan in the Kurram tribal region on Sunday, Pakistan’s military said.
The soldiers were carrying out routine surveillance along the border, said the military’s media wing, Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR). The two countries share a 2,400-km border.
Islamabad says Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is using Afghan soil to launch terrorist attack inside Pakistan.
On Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said TTP, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Lashkar-e-Islam and other terrorist groups had been eliminated from its soil.
“They have relocated themselves in Afghanistan,” he said. “Daesh too has made sanctuaries on the Afghan side of the… border. These terrorist groups regularly undertake cross-border raids on our posts.”
Pakistan respects Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, he said, adding: “We neither step into Afghan soil nor fire inside its territory.”
He said: “In some locations… Afghan forces have taken action against terrorist sanctuaries along the border and deployed its troops. We urge Afghanistan to take similar actions in other terrorist-infested areas.”
He added: “We have shared actionable intelligence with the Afghan side about the hideouts of terrorists along the… border.”
2 Pakistani soldiers killed, 5 injured in attack from Afghanistan
2 Pakistani soldiers killed, 5 injured in attack from Afghanistan
‘Fully stand with Bangladesh’: Pakistan PM backs decision to boycott India match
- Pakistan’s government have not allowed the national cricket team to play its World Cup match against India on Feb. 15
- Pakistan has accused India of influencing ICC decisions, criticized global cricket body for replacing Bangladesh in World Cup
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday backed his government’s decision to bar the national men’s cricket team from playing against India in the upcoming T20 World Cup tournament, reaffirming support for Bangladesh.
Pakistan’s government announced on social media platform X last week that it has allowed its national team to travel to Sri Lanka for the World Cup. However, it said the Green Shirts will not take the field against India on their scheduled match on Feb. 15.
Pakistan’s participation in the tournament was thrown into doubt after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for replacing Bangladesh with Scotland. The decision was taken after Bangladesh said it would not let its team travel to India out of security concerns.
During a meeting of the federal cabinet, Sharif highlighted that Pakistan has said that politics should be kept away from sports.
“We have taken this stand after careful consideration and in this regard, we should stand fully with Bangladesh,” Sharif said in televised remarks.
“And I believe this is a very reasonable decision.”
Pakistan has blamed India for influencing the ICC’s decisions. The global cricket governing body is currently led by Jay Shah, the head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Shah is the son of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.
Pakistan’s boycott announcement has triggered media frenzy worldwide, with several Indian cricket experts and analysts criticizing Islamabad for the decision. An India-Pakistan cricket contest is by far the most lucrative and eagerly watched match of any ICC tournament.
The ICC has ensured that the two rivals and Asian cricket giants are always in the same group of any ICC event since 2012 to capitalize on the high-stakes game.
The two teams have played each other at neutral venues over the past several years, as bilateral cricket remains suspended between them since 2013 due to political tensions.
Those tensions have persisted since the two nuclear-armed nations engaged in the worst fighting between them since 1999 in May 2025, after India blamed Pakistan for an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed tourists.
Pakistan denied India’s allegations that it was involved in the attack, calling for a credible probe into the incident.
