Protest in Khost amid Afghan and Pakistan hostilities

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Thousands rallied on Friday in Khost against what they claim to be Pakistan's military aggression on Afghanistan, amid the deadliest fighting yet between the two neighbours in a conflict that Islamabad has declared to be an "open war."

"We strongly urge the United Nations and other relevant organisations to send teams to investigate the killing of civilians in Afghanistan," one Khost resident at the protest said.

The protest came as Pakistani and Afghan forces launched multiple strikes at each other in cross-border clashes on Friday, and each side claimed to have killed dozens more enemy troops.

Repeated appeals from the international community for restraint have had no effect as the fighting, now in its ninth day, continued unabated.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Afghanistan's capital of harboring the the Pakistani Taliban - also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, a charge Kabul denies. 

Since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, the TTP has stepped up its attacks within Pakistan.

Islamabad says its military operations, which started last week, will continue until Afghanistan takes verifiable steps to rein in the TTP and other militants operating from its territory.