ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban forces fired mortar rounds into northwestern Pakistan this week, targeting civilian houses to kill one person and injure five others, a Pakistani official said on Wednesday.

The deputy commissioner of Pakistan’s South Waziristan district, located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, said Afghan Taliban forces fired mortar rounds at civilian houses and the Angoor Adda Bazaar on Tuesday night. He said one civilian was killed, five others were injured and many shops were damaged. The official said Pakistan’s border forces responded effectively to the aggression.

KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the “unprovoked and blatant aggression” by the Afghan forces, commending Pakistani forces for their swift response.

“Let the Afghan Taliban regime have no illusions: Pakistan will never tolerate attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty,” Kundi said. “Our armed forces have the full backing of the nation to defend every inch of our soil, and no threat or hostile act will weaken our determination to protect Pakistan.”

Afghanistan officials have so far not responded to Pakistani officials about the alleged attack.

The border clash takes place as tensions persist between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ties between the two neighbors have been strained since the Afghan Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, and militancy surged in Pakistan’s bordering northwest province.

Pakistan blames Afghanistan for not taking action against militants that it alleges use Afghan soil to launch attacks against its civilians and law enforcers. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, as well as the separatist Baloch Liberation Army or BLA. Last month, Pakistan’s UN envoy said more than 4,700 Pakistanis have been killed over the past three years by “terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan denies the allegations and urges Pakistan to resolve its security challenges by itself.

Pakistani and Afghan forces have regularly clashed with each other this year as tensions over militancy between the two persist. Pakistan has also carried out airstrikes this year against Afghan cities, including Kabul, saying that it will hunt militants that endanger its citizens lives even if they are present in Afghanistan.