Pakistani and Afghan forces have exchanged deadly fire at multiple locations along their border, and the two sides claim to have captured and destroyed border posts in one of the worst border clashes in recent years.
The Taliban administration’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at least 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in “retaliatory” attacks on Saturday night, two days after blasts were reported in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the southeastern province of Paktika.
The Pakistani military admitted 23 of its soldiers were dead while claiming to have killed 200 Taliban and affiliated “terrorists”. Pakistan’s interior minister called the Afghan attacks “unprovoked firing”.
The Taliban government has accused Pakistan of carrying out Thursday’s bombings. Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
Pakistan was accused of backing Taliban fighters during their rebellion against the United States-led occupation of Afghanistan and was one of only three countries that recognised the first Taliban government from 1996 to 2001.
But the rise of attacks inside Pakistan since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021 has strained their ties as Islamabad has accused the Taliban administration of providing safe haven to fighters from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban. Kabul has denied the allegations.
So what’s the latest on the fighting? What triggered the clashes? And is the situation expected to escalate further?
What’s the latest?
The Taliban attacks on Pakistan border areas began about 10pm (17:00 GMT) on Saturday, and the exchange of fire took place at multiple locations.
Pakistani officials and state-run radio noted that those locations included Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir and Chitral – all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – and Bahram Chah in Balochistan.
Mujahid said Afghan forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, captured 25 army posts and wounded 30 soldiers in their attacks.
“The situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control, and illegal activities have been largely prevented,” Mujahid said at a news conference in Kabul.
Afghanistan’s TOLOnews channel reported on Sunday that the Ministry of Defence is deploying tanks and heavy weapons in several areas of Kunar province on the 2,640km (1,640-mile) border, also referred to as the colonial-era Durand Line.
The Pakistani military on Sunday condemned what it called “the cowardly action”, saying it was aimed at destabilising the border to facilitate terrorism”.
“Exercising the right of self-defence, the alert Armed Forces of Pakistan repelled the assault decisively,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“Last night’s episode vindicates Pakistan’s long-standing position that the Taliban government is actively facilitating the terrorists,” ISPR said. At least 29 soldiers were injured during the overnight skirmishes, it added.
The Pakistani military claimed multiple Taliban locations were destroyed along the border and “21 hostile positions on the Afghan side of the border were also briefly physically captured and multiple terrorist training camps used to plan and facilitate attacks against Pakistan were rendered inoperative.”
While the exchange of fire is mostly over, residents of Pakistan’s Kurram area reported intermittent gunfire.
What triggered the clashes?
On Thursday, Kabul was rocked by the sound of two explosions, and another took place in a civilian market in the border province of Paktika, the Taliban Defence Ministry said on Friday.
The Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan’s “sovereign territory”. Islamabad did not outright deny the blasts but asked the Taliban to curb the activities of the Pakistan Taliban.
A Pakistani security official told the Reuters news agency air strikes were carried out and their intended target in Kabul was the leader of the TTP, who was travelling in a vehicle.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify if the leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, had survived.
Pakistan and the Taliban, once allies over shared security interests, have grown increasingly hostile over Islamabad’s claim that the Taliban is giving refuge to the TTP, which is accused of carrying out years of attacks inside Pakistan.
At least 2,414 fatalities have been recorded in the first three quarters of this year, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank.
In its latest report issued last month, CRSS said that if the current trend continues, 2025 could be one of the deadliest years in Pakistan. Last year, at least 2,546 people were killed in attacks.
The attacks have risen since the ouster of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in April 2022. Khan’s government had involved the Taliban in efforts to get the TTP to agree to a ceasefire. Although the ceasefire unravelled during Khan’s tenure, the frequency of attacks remained lower.
Ties have deteriorated as Islamabad has increased its use of air strikes inside Afghanistan to target hideouts it says are used by TTP fighters.
Analysts said a recent surge in TTP attacks against Pakistani soldiers was the main trigger for the deadly clashes.
The TTP attacks, including suicide bombings, compelled Pakistan to strike in Afghanistan, said Mehmood Jan Babar, a
Peshawar-based political and security analyst.
“The message was to clearly show that if the Afghan Taliban won’t control the elements on their soil, Pakistan will strike inside the Afghan territory. The issue is that the TTP has enough support within the ranks of the Afghan Taliban, and that is also why the government often chooses to look the other way when the TTP carries out its activities inside Pakistan,” Babar said.
“If the Kabul government chooses to take some action, they fear there could be a big revolt in their internal ranks as not only TTP fighters but even the Afghan Taliban rank and file might end up joining hands, or worse, join the so-called Islamic State in Khorasan Province.”
Relations have also soured over Pakistan’s decision to deport tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. At least 3 million Afghan refugees had taken shelter in Pakistan after fleeing decades of conflict.
What have both sides said?
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Afghan attacks late on Saturday, adding that the country’s army “not only gave a befitting reply to Afghanistan’s provocations but also destroyed several of their posts, forcing them to retreat”.
Mohsin Naqvi, the interior minister, said the Afghan attacks were “unprovoked” and civilians were fired at. Strongly condemning the Taliban’s attacks, he said: “The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of international laws.”
“Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” he said in a post on X.
Enayatullah Khowarazmi, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence, said its attacks on the Pakistan border posts were a retaliatory operation, adding that they concluded at midnight.
“If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan’s airspace, our armed forces are prepared to defend their airspace and will deliver a strong response,” Khowarazmi said.
What has been the international response to the clashes?
The escalating tensions have prompted regional concern as they come amid rapidly changing security dynamics and relations in South Asia.
“Our position is that both sides must exercise restraint,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said during a live interview with state television, adding that “stability” between the two countries that border Iran “contributes to regional stability”.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged “both sides to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy, exercise restraint, and work to contain the disputes in a way that helps reduce tension, avoids escalation, and contributes to regional peace and stability”.
Expressing concern, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The kingdom calls for restraint, avoiding escalation, and embracing dialogue and wisdom to contribute to reducing tensions and maintaining security and stability in the region.”
“The kingdom affirms its support for all regional and international efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability and its continued commitment to ensuring security, which will achieve stability and prosperity for the brotherly Pakistani and Afghan peoples,” it added.
India, which is currently hosting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on his first visit there, has yet to comment on the border clashes. Islamabad has viewed New Delhi’s engagement with the Taliban with suspicion.
Ibraheem Bahiss, a Kabul-based senior analyst for the International Crisis Group, said Muttaqi’s red-carpet welcome in India was “probably a factor in the ultimate decision by the Pakistan army to escalate in the major way that we saw”.
Could these clashes escalate?
Security analysts and a former diplomat Al Jazeera spoke to suggested both sides would like to avoid escalating the matter.
Asif Durrani, a former Pakistani ambassador and special representative to Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera he believes “the chances of this clash [spilling over] to something bigger and more serious [are] minimal.”
“Afghanistan does not have any conventional military capacity when compared to Pakistan,” Durrani said, adding, “Guerrilla warfare is not the same as conventional warfare, which is a whole different beast and something where Pakistan is considerably ahead of Afghanistan.”
Bahiss said he believes that priority for both Islamabad and Kabul is to de-escalate. “Neither side wants major escalation on their frontiers as they are already grappling with several issues,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Pakistan is dealing with violence with attacks against security personnel, and it would lead to the compounding of this issue if the Afghan Taliban also started carrying out attacks, putting broader security under pressure, and that is something Pakistan would want to avoid.”
The Afghan retaliation, Bahiss said, was “to reassure their domestic audience, showing that they are in control of the situation and can avenge any strikes inside their territory”.
Babar says both sides need to engage through diplomacy. “It is the only way they can somehow find a way to resolve their differences. Pakistan’s deputy prime minister, Ishaq Dar, who is also the foreign minister, has met his Afghan counterpart multiple times this year, and they have both promised not to fight,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Both countries have a similar set of friends, particularly China and other Muslim nations. Saudi Arabia, in fact, has already issued a statement urging restraint from both sides and disengagement from battle. China and Russia too will not want this border to heat up and will want both to get back to the negotiation table, so I don’t think there will be any further escalation,” he said.
But Durrani said the TTP remains the central issue in the countries’ fraught relations.
“The Afghan government refuses to acknowledge their [the TTP’s] existence on their soil, and as long as that irritant remains present, the situation will remain tense,” he added.
Abid Hussain contributed reporting from Islamabad and Yashraj Sharma reported from New Delhi