Pakistan -Afghanistan-border clashes erupt between forces from both sides, leaving dozens dead and hundreds wounded [Image by The Friday Times]
(The Post News) – Over a dozen Afghan civilians were killed and more than 100 others injured early Wednesday as fresh battles broke out along the common border of Pakistan and Afghanistan, officials from both countries attested.
Fighting started before the break of dawn near Chaman, a vital border crossing point between Pakistan’s Balochistan province and Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Locals described intense artillery and mortar fire that was sustained for hours, leaving dozens of families displaced.
Pakistan TV said Afghan officials then called for a ceasefire along the border in the vicinity of Chaman, though intermittent firing was heard through the morning.
Pakistan Accuses Afghan Forces and TTP
The Pakistani security officials reported troops were subjected to unprovoked fire by Afghan soldiers and TTP militants in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistan’s military claimed it had foiled the attack, killing a minimum of 20 Afghan Taliban militants and setting several outposts ablaze in Spin Boldak along Afghanistan’s side of the border. The officials also said that Pakistani planes targeted and set ablaze a TTP training camp in Khost province in Afghanistan, where up to 30 militants were killed.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of sheltering the TTP, which has carried out hundreds of deadly attacks in Pakistan since 2021. The Taliban regime insists these allegations are not true, since Afghan soil is not being used to attack other countries.
The Taliban regime spokesperson based in Kabul, Zabihullah Mujahid, accused Pakistan of firing light and heavy weapons in the direction of Spin Boldak, killing civilians.
More than 12 civilians were killed and over 100 injured,” Mujahid tweeted on X. “Our forces retaliated, taking military posts and equipment.”
At the Chaman Hospital, Dr. Awais Ahmad reported dozens of injured civilians. There were glimpses of panic as families were exiting homes close to the border.
“This fight has been going on since morning,” Chaman resident Najibullah Khan said. “People are scared, many have left their villages.”.
The clashes follow a violent weekend of border clashes that resulted in dozens dead on each side. Combat briefly subsided Sunday when Saudi Arabia and Qatar brokered a truce, but hostilities resumed within 48 hours.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have also rapidly worsened since last week, following Afghanistan’s accusation that Pakistan had bombed its capital city, Kabul, and eastern Paktika province, claims Pakistan refused to confirm or deny.
The new violence erupted on the same day that Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi flew to India, the highest-level Taliban official visitor since 2021. The trip has surprised Islamabad and potentially could add further strain to bilateral relations, analysts say.
“This conflict has undone a lot of the diplomatic legwork that had been done earlier this year,” said Seema Ilahi Baloch, a former Pakistani envoy. “Both countries need to realize these conflicts only destabilize the region.”
The border escalation has triggered international concern.
China, which has economic and strategic interests in both nations, urged dialogue. Russia called for “restraint and diplomacy.” Saudi Arabia and Qatar reiterated offers to mediate. U.S. President Donald Trump offered to broker peace, saying, “I’m good at solving wars, I’m good at making peace.”
Experts warn the recent encounters may introduce a new normal for Pakistan’s response to the region, where it will lash out immediately against cross-border attacks that emanate from Afghan territory.
“Islamabad is adopting a new policy of deterrence,” says Abdul Basit, a Singaporean security expert. “Any attack that emanates from Afghanistan will be responded to immediately.”
The Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan Factor
At the heart of the crisis is the TTP, an ideologically aligned Afghan Taliban but operationally independent militant group.
The TTP conducted more than 600 attacks in the previous year, data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) showed. Violence in 2025 has so far surpassed the total number of attacks in 2024.
Pakistan’s military claims the Taliban government must take “verifiable action” against the TTP, but the Taliban maintains that it is pursuing negotiations. Analysts warn, however, that close tribal and ideological ties between the two ensure that cracking down will be unlikely.
Open fighting had apparently stopped last night, reports said on Wednesday. Border crossings remain closed, however, and the humanitarian crisis along the border continues to worsen.
Analysts say that unless the two sides agree on an institutionalized border security deal, violence will return.
“With each clash erodes whatever confidence remains between the two regimes,” University of Peshawar political science professor Aamer Raza said. “Without agreement on the TTP issue, this cycle of tit-for-tat will continue.”
Until then, both nations stand at a crossroads, one that could lead them back to negotiation or further, more dangerous confrontation.
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