Pakistan has put its troops along the border with Afghanistan on high alert following fierce clashes last weekend in several border provinces of Pakistan.

All checkpoints along the 2,600-kilometer border between the two countries have been closed, and cross-border trade has been completely suspended, Pakistani security forces informed, Reuters reports.

All checkpoints have been closed since Saturday following “unprovoked” attacks from the Afghan side, Reuters sources explained. Several exchanges of fire occurred on Sunday evening, but the overall situation has remained calm, they added.

Inayatullah Khwarazmi, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defense, confirmed to Reuters that the border situation continues to remain normal.

“If the opposing side [i.e. Pakistan] again violates Afghanistan's territorial integrity, our armed forces are fully prepared to defend the nation's borders and will deliver a strong response,” he emphasized.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had stated that his country’s retaliatory strikes against terrorist groups in Afghanistan are defensive in nature and are not directed at civilians.