Islamabad/Kabul: Fresh violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has left dozens of people dead, including troops and civilians, after heavy cross-border firing broke out late Tuesday night. Both countries accused each other of provocation before agreeing to a 48-hour ceasefire, which they each claimed was requested by the other side.
According to reports from security officials on both sides, the clashes erupted along multiple sections of the border and escalated rapidly overnight. Pakistan’s military said it had retaliated to firing by Afghan forces and local militants, describing the assault as “unprovoked.”
Pakistan Launches Airstrikes on Kabul and Kandahar
Within hours of the first reports of border fighting, Pakistan launched airstrikes targeting Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and Kandahar province, according to officials cited by Reuters and AFP. The strikes came after what Pakistan described as twin Taliban attacks on major border posts in the country’s southwest and northwest regions.
Pakistan’s military said about 20 Taliban fighters were killed in assaults launched near Spin Boldak, on the Afghan side of the frontier in southern Kandahar province.
“Unfortunately, the attack was orchestrated through divided villages in the area, with no regard for the civil population,”
the military said in a statement.
The army also claimed that another 30 militants were likely killed in overnight clashes along the northwestern frontier.
Civilian Casualties Reported in Spin Boldak
Afghan officials told AFP that 15 civilians were killed and dozens more were injured in the latest violence along the border.
Ali Mohammad Haqmal, spokesperson for the local information department in Spin Boldak, confirmed that the victims included women and children.
Abdul Jan Barak, an official at the Spin Boldak district hospital, said over 80 civilians, including many women and children, were injured by mortar fire.
Photographs from the region showed Afghan Taliban fighters patrolling near Spin Boldak, underscoring heightened tensions between the two neighbours.
Heavy Losses on Both Sides
Reuters reported that fighting in Pakistan’s Orakzai border district left six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers dead and several others wounded.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of “once again” carrying out attacks “with light and heavy weapons” in border areas, claiming Afghan forces had responded effectively.
The state-run Pakistan Television (PTV), citing security officials, said Pakistan responded “with full force” to the unprovoked firing in the northwestern Kurram region. It added that several Taliban fighters were killed, their forward posts destroyed, and a tank damaged.
PTV also reported that a key commander of the Pakistani Taliban, a local offshoot of the Afghan Taliban, was killed during Pakistan’s retaliatory attack.
However, Afghanistan’s Taliban government claimed its forces had killed numerous Pakistani soldiers, seized weapons and tanks, and captured several Pakistani posts along the frontier.
Background: Clashes Over the Weekend
The latest fighting follows intense border clashes last weekend when Afghanistan launched attacks on Pakistani positions in what it called “retaliation for airstrikes on Kabul” carried out by Pakistan on the night of October 7.
Afghanistan claimed its retaliatory strikes killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, while Pakistan said the toll was 23 and asserted it had eliminated more than 200 Taliban fighters in counterfire.
The border crossings between the two countries were closed on October 12, adding to regional tension.
Hours after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed a strong response, the Taliban warned that it had “other ways to handle the situation if Pakistan does not want to engage in dialogue.”
Diplomatic sources told AFP that Qatar and Saudi Arabia intervened to broker a temporary truce, resulting in the ongoing 48-hour ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul.
Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Erupts In Deadly Clashes: Dozens Killed, Airstrikes Launched, 48-Hour Ceasefire Declared
