Afghanistan-Pakistan border clashes: What we all know to date

[ad_1] Heavy preventing has damaged out between Pakistani and Afghan forces at a number of places on their border, and the rival sides declare to have captured and destroyed border posts in one of many worst border clashes in recent times.

The Taliban administration’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, mentioned at the least 58 Pakistani troopers have been killed in “retaliatory” assaults on Saturday evening, two days after blasts have been reported within the capital, Kabul, and the southeastern province of Paktika.

The Pakistani army admitted 23 of its troopers have been ‘martyred’ whereas claiming to kill 200 Taliban and affiliated “terrorists”. Earlier, Pakistan’s inside minister known as the Afghan assaults “unprovoked firing”.

The Taliban authorities has accused Pakistan of finishing up the current bombings. Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.

Pakistan is alleged to have backed Taliban fighters throughout their rebel in opposition to the United States-led occupation of Afghanistan and was certainly one of solely three international locations that recognised the primary Taliban authorities from 1996 to 2001.

However the rise of assaults inside Pakistan because the return of the Taliban to energy in 2021 has strained their ties as Islamabad has accused the Taliban administration of offering secure haven to fighters from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban. Kabul has denied the allegations.

So what’s the newest on the preventing? What triggered the clashes? And is the scenario anticipated to escalate additional?

Pakistan accuses the TTP of finishing up assaults on its territory and the Afghan Taliban authorities of harbouring the group [File: Fayaz Aziz/Reuters] What’s the newest? The Taliban assault on Pakistan border areas started about 10pm (17:00 GMT) on Saturday, and the alternate of fireplace happened at a number of places.

Pakistani officers and state-run radio famous that these places included Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir and Chitral – all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – and Bahram Chah in Balochistan.

Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, mentioned Afghan forces killed 58 Pakistani troopers, captured 25 military posts and wounded 30 troopers of their assaults.

“The scenario on all official borders and de facto traces of Afghanistan is beneath full management, and unlawful actions have been largely prevented,” Mujahid mentioned at a information convention in Kabul.

Afghanistan’s TOLOnews channel reported on Sunday that the Ministry of Defence is deploying tanks and heavy weapons in a number of areas of Kunar province on the two,640km (1,640-mile) border, additionally known as the colonial-era Durand Line.

The Pakistani army on Sunday condemned what it known as “the cowardly motion” aimed toward destabilising the border areas to facilitate terrorism”.

“Exercising the proper of self-defence, the alert Armed Forces of Pakistan repelled the assault decisively,” the Inter-Companies Public Relations (ISPR), the army’s media wing, mentioned in an announcement.

“Final evening’s episode vindicates Pakistan’s long-standing place that the Taliban authorities is actively facilitating the terrorists,” ISPR mentioned. No less than 29 troopers have been injured throughout the in a single day skirmishes, it added.

The Pakistani army claimed that a number of Taliban places have been destroyed alongside the border and “21 hostile positions on the Afghan aspect of border have been additionally briefly bodily captured and a number of terrorist coaching camps, used to plan and facilitate assaults in opposition to Pakistan, have been rendered inoperative”.

Whereas the alternate of fireplace is usually over, residents of Pakistan’s Kurram space reported intermittent gunfire.

A Taliban fighter walks in entrance of feminine protesters throughout an anti-Pakistan demonstration in Kabul on September 7, 2021 [West Asia News Agency via Reuters] What triggered the clashes? On Thursday, Kabul was rocked by the sound of two explosions, and one other happened in a civilian market within the border province of Paktika, the Taliban Defence Ministry mentioned on Friday.

The Taliban authorities accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan’s “sovereign territory”. Islamabad didn't outright deny the blasts however requested the Taliban to curb the actions of the Pakistan Taliban.

A Pakistani safety official informed the Reuters information company air strikes have been carried out and their supposed goal in Kabul was the chief of the TTP, who was travelling in a automobile.

Al Jazeera couldn't independently confirm if the chief, Noor Wali Mehsud, had survived.

Pakistan and the Taliban, as soon as allies over shared safety pursuits, have grown more and more hostile over Islamabad’s declare that the Taliban is giving refuge to the TTP, an armed group accused of finishing up years of assaults inside Pakistan.

No less than 2,414 fatalities have been recorded within the first three quarters of this 12 months, in response to the Centre for Analysis and Safety Research (CRSS), an Islamabad-based suppose tank.

In its newest report issued final month, CRSS mentioned that if the present pattern continues, 2025 could possibly be one of many deadliest years in Pakistan. Final 12 months, at the least 2,546 individuals have been killed in assaults.

The armed assaults have risen following the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in April 2022. Khan’s authorities had involved the Taliban to get the TTP to comply with ceasefire deal. Although the ceasefire deal unraveled throughout Khan’s tenure, the frequency of assaults remained decrease.

Ties have deteriorated as Islamabad has elevated its use of air strikes inside Afghanistan to focus on hideouts it says are utilized by TTP fighters.

Analysts say the current surge in TTP assaults in opposition to Pakistani troopers was the primary set off for the lethal clashes.

The TTP assaults, together with suicide bombings, compelled Pakistan to strike in Afghanistan, mentioned Mehmood Jan Babar, a Peshawar-based political and safety analyst.

“The message was to obviously present that if Afghan Taliban received’t management the weather on their soil, Pakistan will strike contained in the Afghan territory. The problem is that TTP has sufficient help throughout the ranks of Afghan Taliban, and that's additionally why the federal government typically chooses to look the opposite approach when TTP carries out its actions inside Pakistan,” mentioned Babar.

“In case Kabul authorities chooses to take some motion, they worry there could possibly be an enormous revolt of their inside ranks, as not solely TTP fighters, however even Afghan Taliban rank and file would possibly find yourself becoming a member of arms, or worse, be part of so-called Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (ISKP).”

Relations have additionally soured over Pakistan’s determination to deport tens of 1000's of Afghan refugees. No less than 3 million Afghan refugees have taken shelter in Pakistan after fleeing a long time of battle.

What have either side mentioned? Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Afghan assaults late on Saturday, including that the nation’s military “not solely gave a befitting reply to Afghanistan’s provocations but in addition destroyed a number of of their posts, forcing them to retreat”.

Mohsin Naqvi, the inside minister, mentioned the Afghan assaults have been “unprovoked” and civilians have been fired at. Strongly condemning the Taliban’s assaults, he mentioned: “The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of worldwide legal guidelines.”

“Afghanistan is enjoying a sport of fireplace and blood,” he mentioned in a publish on X.

Enayatullah Khowarazmi, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence, mentioned its assaults on the Pakistan border posts have been a retaliatory operation, including that they concluded at midnight.

“If the opposing aspect once more violates Afghanistan’s airspace, our armed forces are ready to defend their airspace and can ship a powerful response,” Khowarazmi mentioned.

Taliban Overseas Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi speaks to the media close to an Islamic seminary in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, on October 11, 2025 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters] What has been the worldwide response to the clashes? The escalating tensions have prompted regional concern as they arrive amid quickly altering safety dynamics and relations in South Asia.

Iranian Overseas Minister Abbas Araghchi known as on his nation’s two neighbours “to train restraint”.

“Our place is that either side should train restraint,” Araghchi mentioned throughout a stay interview with state tv, including that “stability” between the international locations “contributes to regional stability”.

Qatar’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs additionally urged “either side to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy, train restraint, and work to include the disputes in a approach that helps cut back rigidity, avoids escalation, and contributes to regional peace and stability”.

Expressing concern, the Saudi Ministry of Overseas Affairs mentioned: “The dominion requires restraint, avoiding escalation, and embracing dialogue and knowledge to contribute to lowering tensions and sustaining safety and stability within the area.”

“The dominion affirms its help for all regional and worldwide efforts aimed toward selling peace and stability and its continued dedication to making sure safety, which can obtain stability and prosperity for the brotherly Pakistani and Afghan peoples,” it added.

India, which is at present internet hosting Afghan Overseas Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on his first go to there, has but to touch upon the border clashes. Islamabad has considered New Delhi’s engagement with the Taliban with suspicion.

Ibraheem Bahiss, Kabul-based senior analyst for Disaster Group, mentioned that Muttaqi’s red-carpet welcome in India was “in all probability an element within the final determination by Pakistan military to escalate within the main approach that we noticed”.

An Afghan lady and her household sit in a truck as they head again to Afghanistan on the Chaman border crossing on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Balochistan province after Pakistan ordered Afghans in a foreign country [File: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters] Might these clashes escalate? Safety analysts and a former diplomat Al Jazeera spoke to recommend that each the edges wish to keep away from escalating the matter.

Asif Durrani, a former Pakistani ambassador and particular consultant to Afghanistan, informed Al Jazeera he believes “the possibilities of this conflict [spilling over] to one thing greater and extra severe [are] minimal.”

“Afghanistan doesn't have any standard army capability when in comparison with Pakistan,” Durrani mentioned, including, “Guerrilla warfare is just not the identical as standard warfare, which is an entire totally different beast and one thing the place Pakistan is significantly forward of Afghanistan.”

Bahiss, the Kabul-based analyst, believes that precedence for each Islamabad and Kabul is to deescalate. “Neither aspect desires main escalation on their frontiers as they're already grappling with a number of points,” he informed Al Jazeera.

“Pakistan is coping with violence with assaults in opposition to safety personnel, and it will result in compounding of this situation if Afghan Taliban additionally began finishing up assaults, placing the broader safety beneath strain and that's one thing Pakistan would wish to keep away from.

The Afghan retaliation, Bahiss mentioned, was “to reassure their home viewers, exhibiting that they're in charge of the scenario and may avenge any strikes inside their territory”.

Babar, the Peshawar-based safety analyst, says either side want to interact by means of diplomacy. “It's the solely approach they will one way or the other discover a option to resolve their variations. Pakistan’s deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar, who can be the international minister, met his Afghan counterpart earlier this 12 months a number of occasions, they usually have each promised to not struggle,” he informed Al Jazeera.

“Each international locations have an analogous set of pals, notably China and different Muslim nations. Saudi Arabia, the truth is, has already issued an announcement urging either side to restrain and disengage with battle. China and Russia too won't need this border to warmth up and can need each to get again on the negotiation desk so I don’t suppose there can be any additional escalation,” he mentioned.

However Durrani, the previous Pakistan envoy, says that the TTP stays the central situation within the international locations’ fraught relations.

“The Afghan authorities refuses to acknowledge their [the TTP’s] existence on their soil, and so long as that irritant stays current, the scenario will stay tense,” he added.