Dozens of fighters were killed in overnight border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both sides said on Sunday, in the most serious fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban came to power in Kabul.

ISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: At least 23 Pakistani troops embraced martyrdom while over 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorist were killed in fierce overnight clashes along the Pak-Afghan border, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday, following an unprovoked attack from the Afghan side.

The Taliban government has confirmed that it attacked Pakistani troops in multiple mountainous locations on the northern border. Casualties are not yet clear in what the Taliban called "retaliatory operations", after it said Pakistan violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market inside its border on Thursday.

During a press conference in India, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi accused Pakistan of provoking border tensions, saying Kabul’s response was to “safeguard its national interests,” while stressing that Afghanistan has “no issues with the Pakistani people.

Pakistan has warned of a new war with India after 11 of its soldiers were killed by a terrorist group it claims New Delhi backs.

Pakistani officials say violent clashes have erupted between police and Islamists in the eastern city of Lahore.

Once operational, the mine is estimated to generate about $150bn in revenue over four decades. Since 1993 various international companies have tried to make the mine work. Financial, legal and political concerns stopped them.

The federation stated that Butt, who is also a signatory to the AFP Constitution, committed gross breaches of its provisions. He is now prohibited for life from serving or participating as an athlete, coach, or official at any level, whether national or international.

Pakistan uprooted the Taliban with U.S. help in the 2010s. But the insurgency has resurfaced with assistance from the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan strongly rejects assertions and insinuations by the Interim Afghan Foreign Minister in India to divert attention from the presence of terrorist elements in Afghanistan. By making these baseless assertions, the Taliban regime cannot absolve itself of its responsibilities towards regional peace and stability, it added.