Cross-Border Afghan Shelling Injures Five In South Waziristan
At least five people were injured on Thursday when shelling originating from across the Afghan border struck areas in South Waziristan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to security sources briefed on the incident.
The shelling represents the latest in a pattern of cross-border fire incidents that have strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul and raised alarm among civilian populations in Pakistan's restive border districts. Security officials did not immediately specify whether the fire was indiscriminate or targeted, nor attribute it to any specific group operating on Afghan soil.
Pakistan has repeatedly lodged formal protests with the Afghan Taliban government over cross-border attacks, accusing Kabul of failing to prevent militant groups — particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — from using Afghan territory to stage operations against Pakistani security forces and civilians. The Taliban administration has consistently denied complicity and rejected Pakistani accusations.
The incident adds to mounting pressure on Pakistan's security establishment to respond more decisively to what officials have described as a deteriorating border security environment. South Waziristan, historically one of the most volatile districts in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, has seen a significant uptick in violence in recent months, deepening concerns about the stability of the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier.
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