The Taliban's Defence Ministry said on Monday it had attacked Pakistani troops at the border in response to Pakistan's two air strikes on Afghan territory that killed eight women and children.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not allow anyone to compromise security by using Afghan territory,” Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban administration, said.
Pakistan's army and foreign office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.
Mr Mujahid said Pakistani aircraft carried out the attack at about 3am, which hit civilian homes in Khost and Paktika provinces near the border separating the two countries.
Three women and three children were killed in the Barmal district of Paktika and two women died in the Serpera district of Khost, he posted on X.
Describing the “reckless” attacks as a breach of Afghanistan's territory, he said: “Such incidents can have very bad consequences, which will be out [of] Pakistan's control.”
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's government or military.
The reported strikes came after seven Pakistani troops were killed in an attack on Saturday on a military post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, for which the Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari vowed to retaliate.
“Pakistan has decided that whoever will enter our borders, homes or country and commit terror, we will respond to them strongly, regardless of who it is or from which country,” Mr Zardari said, while attending the funeral prayers of the soldiers killed, including a lieutenant colonel.
The attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad, a new militant group that Pakistani security officials believe to be made up of members of the outlawed Tahrik-e-Taliban (TTP), which often carries out attacks against Pakistani soldiers and police.
Border areas have long been a stronghold for militant groups such as the TTP, which has strong links to the Taliban in Afghanistan. Pakistan says these groups operate from the Afghanistan side of the border.
The TTP issued a statement denying that they were the targets of Monday's air strikes, saying their members operate within Pakistan.
Border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have risen since the Afghan Taliban seized power in 2021, which was followed by an increase in militant activity in Pakistan.
In 2022, Taliban authorities said Pakistani military helicopters carried out strikes along the Afghan side of the border that killed at least 47 people.
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
