Pakistani media reported that a drone struck a mosque in Bannu near the border, injuring at least five people

As Pakistan and Afghanistan step in, international calls for mediation grow louder Cross-border fighting has entered its third dayIt was the worst violence between the two neighbors in months, and Pakistan said it had plunged the two countries into “open war”.

European Union foreign policy chief Kadja Kalla on Saturday urged countries to cool down and engage in negotiations, warning that violence could affect the wider region.

Iran, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Russia, along with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have also urged de-escalation and mediation.

Afghan Taliban ruler says open to negotiation End the conflict. But Pakistan said on Saturday it would not “engage in dialogue”, reiterating its long-standing demand that Afghanistan stop harboring “terrorism”, a charge Kabul denies.

“There will be no negotiations. There will be no dialogue. There will be no negotiations. Terrorism from Afghanistan must end,” Mosharraf Zaidi, the Pakistani prime minister’s foreign media spokesman, told Pakistani television. He stressed that Pakistan’s responsibility was to protect its citizens and territory.

Meanwhile, tit-for-tat attacks have taken place near the disputed border. Afghan media reported that Taliban forces launched drone attacks on Pakistani military camps in the border areas of Miranshah and Spinwam.

Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported that a drone attacked a mosque in the southern city of Bannu, injuring at least five people. Pakistani TV said that the Pakistani army launched attacks on multiple positions of the Afghan Taliban.

The latest violence occurred in Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghan territory over the weekend Thursday triggered retaliatory attacks in Afghanistan that spread across six districts of Pakistan. In response, Pakistan launched widespread airstrikes on the Afghan capital and two other regions, Kandahar and Paktia, in the early hours of Friday morning. This is Pakistan’s first air strike on the Taliban’s southern power base since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Both sides reported heavy losses conflicting tolls. Pakistan said 12 Pakistani soldiers and 274 Taliban soldiers were killed, while the Taliban said 13 Pakistani soldiers and 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Neither side’s claims have been independently verified by Al Jazeera.

The United States considers Pakistan a major non-NATO ally and has expressed support for Pakistan’s right to “defend against Taliban attacks.”

Pakistan has seen a sharp increase in domestic violence in recent years, including suicide bombings and coordinated attacks against security forces. Pakistani authorities blame many of the attacks on the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban Bulgaria, or TTP) and accuse Afghanistan of harboring the group in Afghanistan.

Kabul denies the accusations and says it will not allow anyone to use Afghan territory to attack any country, including Pakistan.

Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons and its military capabilities are far superior to those of Afghanistan. However, the Taliban are adept at guerrilla warfare, hardened by decades of fighting against U.S.-led forces.