Pakistan responds to Afghanistan's unprovoked firing: offici

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister's spokesperson for foreign media Mosharraf Zaidi said on Tuesday that the country responded to Afghanistan's unprovoked firing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The Afghan side initiated unprovoked firing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham and Tirah sub-sectors of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the spokesperson said.

He said that Pakistan's security forces responded immediately and effectively, adding that the country will continue to protect its citizens and guard its territorial integrity.

Sediqullah Nusrat, deputy spokesman of the Afghanistan Ministry of Defense, told Xinhua that the confrontation erupted when Pakistani forces opened fire on Afghan personnel who were conducting routine patrols in the area.

Earlier, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan government, said that Afghanistan would respond to airstrikes carried out by Pakistan on Sunday.

The Afghan side said that the Pakistani military on Sunday carried out airstrikes on the bilateral border areas, killing 18 people and injuring five others.

Pakistan said Sunday that it had carried out intelligence-based, targeted strikes on seven militant camps and hideouts in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area, following a series of suicide bombings, and killed over 80 terrorists.