A volatile surge of hostility erupted along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Sunday, as military forces from both nations engaged in intense overnight clashes. This exchange of heavy fire marks the most significant escalation of violence between the two neighbors in years.
The recent flare-up follows a series of incidents last week, including attacks in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and at a border market. The Taliban government explicitly blamed Pakistan for these earlier provocations.
On Sunday, Afghan officials confirmed that their security forces launched “retaliatory operations” against Pakistani military outposts. They asserted this was a direct response to what Kabul claimed were Pakistani airstrikes on Thursday that breached Afghan airspace and hit a market. The Taliban further stated that dozens of Pakistani soldiers were killed in these overnight assaults.
While Pakistan acknowledged cross-border exchanges of fire that resulted in several Taliban fighters’ deaths, their officials did not immediately provide details concerning the exact confrontation or respond to the Taliban’s specific allegations.
This intense overnight combat has sparked serious concerns that localized violence could spiral into a much broader, destabilizing conflict. Relations between the two governments have steadily worsened in recent months. International calls for calm have come from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, while India — which recently deepened its diplomatic ties with the Taliban — has remained silent on the recent clashes.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Taliban government, informed reporters on Sunday that the fighting ceased at midnight, reportedly after intervention requests from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He declared that “The situation along all official borders and demarcation lines of Afghanistan is under full control,” adding a stern warning that any further violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty “will not go unanswered.”
Last week, Pakistan announced it had conducted “a series of retribution operations” targeting Pakistani militants, without directly naming Afghanistan. Islamabad has consistently accused Kabul of sheltering Pakistani militants who launch attacks from Afghan territory and has threatened retaliatory action. However, Pakistan refrained from claiming responsibility for the Thursday explosions in Kabul and at the border market.
Without delving into the specifics of the latest violence, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif commended his nation’s armed forces on Sunday for their “strong and effective response” to recent Afghan provocations. He claimed the military had “destroyed several of their border posts, forcing a retreat.”
Both Pakistani and Afghan officials have claimed their respective forces successfully captured and dismantled several opposing border posts and inflicted casualties during the recent clashes. However, these assertions could not be independently verified due to severe access restrictions in the border region.
Key border crossings, including Torkham and Chaman-Spin Boldak, remain closed since the overnight confrontations, as confirmed by officials from both countries.
Afghanistan and Pakistan share a rugged, nearly 1,600-mile-long frontier, notoriously known as the Durand Line. Military forces from both sides have frequently engaged in skirmishes over cross-border assaults, territorial disagreements, and the establishment of new security installations.
Historically, Pakistan supported the Taliban during their insurgency against the U.S.-led occupation of Afghanistan. However, this relationship has significantly deteriorated since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistan has consistently accused the Taliban government of offering sanctuary to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (T.T.P.), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. This group has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Pakistani security personnel in recent years.
On Saturday, the T.T.P. took credit for a series of attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a Pakistani province adjacent to Afghanistan. These attacks resulted in the deaths of several security personnel and civilians, including a bombing near a police training facility.
According to Pakistani military officials and various independent and United Nations experts, the T.T.P. leadership has reportedly received financial backing from the Afghan government, and its militants have operated freely within Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban, however, deny providing support to their Pakistani counterparts.
Residents in border districts on both sides, interviewed by telephone, described witnessing intense overnight clashes that lasted for several hours.
“The fighting went on for hours without pause,” remarked Shabbir Khan, a resident of Kurram, a Pakistani border district, highlighting the sound of heavy weapons reverberating through the mountains.
Aziz Sayar, a resident of Sawkai district in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province, near the Pakistani border, stated that gunfire commenced around 9 p.m. and continued for over three hours.
“Our children screamed in fear as bullets echoed through the night,” he recounted, underscoring the terror experienced by locals.