Pakistani and Afghan forces have exchanged fire along their border, with each side accusing the other of initiating the clash, days after Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan strained already tenuous ties.
The incident on Tuesday marks the latest flare-up along the 2,600-kilometre border, where tensions have risen since Pakistan's strikes on Saturday and Sunday and threaten a fragile ceasefire following deadly clashes in October.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan's prime minister, told Reuters the Afghan Taliban authorities had initiated "unprovoked firing" in the Torkham and Tirah sub-sectors along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
"Pakistan's security forces responded immediately and effectively, silencing the Taliban aggression," Zaidi said, warning that any further provocation would be met "immediately and severely".
Afghan officials gave a different account, saying Pakistani forces opened fire and that Afghan troops responded.
Zabihullah Noorani, director of information and culture for Nangarhar province, said the incident took place in the Shahkot area of Nazyan district and that the fighting has since stopped with no Afghan casualties.
Terror attacks in Pakistan
At least seven policemen were killed in separate terror attacks in Pakistan, including two in a suicide bombing at a security checkpoint in the northeastern province of Punjab, officials said.
The suicide attack occurred at a post in the Bhakkar district, Punjab police chief Abdul Karim said in a statement.
Three civilians were injured in the attack, including two health workers of an anti-polio team, police said.
Earlier on Tuesday, terrorists attacked a police vehicle in the Kohat area of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said in a statement.
At least five policemen, including a senior officer, and two civilians were killed, he said.
TTP terrorists
Islamabad said Pakistani air strikes on the weekend targeted camps of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh terrorists in eastern Afghanistan, with security sources putting the terrorist death toll at 70.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said it had received “credible reports” that at least 13 civilians were killed and seven were wounded in Nangarhar.
Pakistan has accused neighbouring Afghanistan of sheltering TTP terrorists and of being responsible for a surge in cross-border attacks, a claim which Afghanistan denied.
The Pakistani government has urged the Afghan government to dismantle the alleged sanctuaries of the TTP terrorist group inside Afghanistan.
According to Pakistani military officials, more than 500 people, including over 311 soldiers, were killed in attacks, largely carried out by the TTP, last year.
In October, Pakistan also conducted strikes inside Afghanistan to target terrorist hideouts.
