The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said Tuesday that a joint committee from Afghanistan and Pakistan met earlier in the day in a bid to resolve the recent border conflict in Paktia province.

Speaking at an event in Kabul, Zabiullah Mujahid, the IEA’s spokesman, said the Islamic Emirate is opposed to cross-border skirmishes with neighboring countries.

“We are committed not to clash with any of our neighboring countries, but to protect our border lines and border areas,” Mujahid said.

Mujahid added that: “On both sides, Afghanistan and Pakistan – a joint working committee is working and continues their meetings to prevent such issues in the future.”

Earlier in the day, reports indicated that while the two sides held talks, no agreements had yet been reached.

According to sources, the two sides sent negotiating delegations to Dand-e-Patan District in Paktia province. The governor of Pakistan and other officials reportedly attended the discussions with their Pakistani counterparts.

Some media outlets meanwhile stated that the deputy minister of defense, Mohammad Fazel Mazloum, also traveled to Dand-e-Patan to assess the situation. There has been no confirmation on whether he also attended the talks.

According to reports, clashes broke out three days ago involving residents of Kurram Agency, in Pakistan over the erection of a border fence by Pakistan. IEA forces and Pakistani forces then reportedly got involved, which resulted in the use of light and heavy weapons.

Residents of Kurram Agency, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan, claimed that they were losing hundreds of hectares of land to Afghanistan.

Since the start of clashes, the Kharlasi gate in Dand-e-Patan, which is a key trade route between southeast Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been closed.

This comes after another border skirmish in Kandahar, led to the closure of the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing for just over a week. The crossing was reopened on Monday.