A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire across the border over the week and killing dozens, according to authorities there. It's an escalation of an already precarious relationship between the South Asian neighbors. Betsy Joles has more from Islamabad.
BETSY JOLES, BYLINE: The border conflict started two days after multiple explosions were reported inside Afghanistan on Thursday. Afghan officials blamed Pakistan for the blasts and fired on its border posts in retaliation. Both sides traded deadly fire on fire. It was the most heated exchange between the countries in years, but it didn't come out of nowhere. Pakistan has been struggling to control a deadly insurgency in its mountainous border region with Afghanistan. That's the area where the TTP is active. They're known as the Pakistani Taliban, and Pakistan blames the Taliban government in Afghanistan for providing them a safe haven.
The TTP have turned up attacks inside Pakistan since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021. Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied it was behind the strikes in Afghanistan on Thursday. Residents of Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan have been uprooted by months of intermittent crackdowns against the TTP by Pakistan security forces.
SANA ULLAH: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: Sana Ullah (ph) is from Datta Khel, in North Waziristan, a volatile region in northwest Pakistan, where a recent campaign against the TTP took place. He says some people from his area were given three hours to evacuate last month as militants entered their area, and Pakistan security forces went after them. They left in a rush without being allowed to take any belongings with them, he says. They are now staying in a nearby village. They've been told by authorities that it's safe to return, but they're reluctant - they don't want to be displaced again. Sana Ullah, like many others in the region, fear things might only get worse if tensions with Afghanistan escalate further.
For NPR News, I'm Betsy Joles in Islamabad.
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