March 17 – More than 400 people were killed and 265 injured in an air strike by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul, the Afghan Taliban government said on Tuesday, a charge Islamabad denied and said it had targeted a military camp and “terrorist infrastructure”. Here is a timeline of the recent clashes between the South Asian neighbours who were close allies years earlier.
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October 12: Dozens of fighters were killed in overnight border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the most serious fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban came to power in Kabul.
October 19: The neighbours agreed to an immediate ceasefire after talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey, and agreed to follow-up meetings to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire.
October 28: Peace talks failed after both sides could not find common ground in the second round of talks brokered by Qatar and Turkey.
November 25: Nine children and a woman were killed in Pakistani air strikes in three eastern provinces, which the Afghan Taliban vowed to respond to.
December 3: A new round of peace talks in Saudi Arabia failed to produce a breakthrough. The talks, hosted by Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, included representatives from Pakistan’s military, intelligence services and foreign office.
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February 27: Pakistani air strikes hit 22 Afghan military targets, Pakistan’s military spokesperson said, adding that at least 12 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 274 Taliban officials and militants were killed over 24 hours.
March 3: Pakistani and Afghan troops clashed at multiple points along their expansive border. The United Nations mission for Afghanistan warned that 42 civilians had been killed over six days.
March 12: Chinese mediation efforts, including a message from President Xi Jinping, have helped ease tensions between the two nations, Reuters reported. A meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late in February included a message from Chinese premier Xi Jinping to cease hostilities.
March 13: Pakistan bombed the fuel depot of private airline Kam Air near Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport, the ruling Taliban said, along with strikes on residential areas in Kabul, killing four people and wounding more than a dozen.
March 17: Over 400 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation hospital in Kabul, the Taliban government said. Pakistan rejected the accusation and said it had bombed a militant camp and terrorist infrastructure.
(Compiled by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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