Islamabad: Dozens of soldiers and fighters were killed in fierce overnight clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, officials from both sides said on Sunday. It was the most intense confrontation between the two neighbours since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021.
Pakistan’s military reported the deaths of 23 soldiers in the fighting, while the Taliban confirmed that nine of its fighters were killed. Each side claimed to have inflicted far higher casualties on the other. Pakistan said its forces had killed more than 200 Taliban and allied fighters, while Kabul claimed 58 Pakistani soldiers were dead.
The latest violence erupted days after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and in a market area of eastern Afghanistan, targeting, according to Pakistani security sources, the leadership of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad has not officially acknowledged the strikes.
In retaliation, Afghan forces opened fire late Saturday on Pakistani border posts. Pakistan responded with heavy guns and artillery fire, claiming to have destroyed several Afghan positions. Afghan officials, meanwhile, said their forces had struck back, destroying Pakistani posts along the frontier.
By Sunday morning, the heaviest exchanges had subsided, though intermittent gunfire continued in parts of Pakistan’s Kurram district, local officials and residents said. Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said its operations ended at midnight, but Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid maintained that fighting was ongoing in some areas.
Kabul said it had paused its attacks at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, both of which issued statements expressing concern over the escalating hostilities. “There is no kind of threat in any part of Afghanistan’s territory,” Mujahid said, adding that “the Islamic Emirate and the people of Afghanistan will defend their land and remain resolute.”
The renewed clashes come amid growing friction over Islamabad’s demand that the Taliban act against TTP militants, whom Pakistan accuses of using Afghan territory to stage attacks. The Taliban has consistently denied harbouring Pakistani insurgents.
In response to the clashes, Pakistan closed multiple crossings along its 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier with Afghanistan- a disputed colonial-era boundary known as the Durand Line, drawn by the British in 1893.
The key border points at Torkham and Chaman, along with smaller crossings at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda, and Ghulam Khan, were sealed, halting trade and travel between the two nations. The closures are expected to deepen economic strain on both sides, where cross-border commerce is a vital lifeline.
The airstrikes and ensuing violence coincided with a rare visit to India by Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. The visit drew unease in Islamabad, which has long viewed India’s engagement with Afghanistan as a strategic concern.
