As Pakistan shells Afghanistan, its own border village Torkham burns

Amid clashes with Afghanistan, Pakistan has declared “open war” and is bombing the capital, Kabul, and surrounding major cities. The Taliban has also carried out retaliatory attacks against Pakistan’s action over the weekend. Reports suggest dozens have been killed during this cross-border fighting. As the clashes intensify, the sound of shelling echoes in the mountains near Pakistan's Torkham, where locals talk of smoke billowing in the region.

"You can see that shells are being fired from here and hitting the mountain in front of us. There should be peace and reconciliation on both sides, because people are in great suffering," Waqas Shinwari, a Torkham resident, tells news agency AFP. In the Pakistan shelling, Kandahar was targeted; this is where the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, resides. Even Paktia, which is located in the east, was attacked.

"We don't have farms or any other businesses here. Everyone, whether a transporter or a watchman, earns a living because of this border. If there is peace on this border, we can have a life. But if there is no peace on the border, then we will leave this area and go to other places in Pakistan,” said Muhammad Kareem.

Another resident, Irshad Khan, spoke about how the situation seemed normal for almost the entire day. But this calm was short-lived. “After nine o'clock at night, artillery and tanks started firing from here towards that side, and there was also firing from that side,” the Torkham resident mentioned.

Everyone in Torkham was sheltered in a tunnel from 8 PM until 8 AM. He added, “After that, everyone walked from Torkham to Landi Kotal and took shelter in the hospital and other places."