Pakistan’s military says it has killed more than 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists” in fierce cross-border fighting with Afghanistan, following some of the deadliest clashes between the two neighbours in recent years.
The violence erupted late Thursday night when Afghan troops reportedly opened fire on Pakistani border posts, prompting heavy retaliatory shelling and artillery fire. Pakistan’s military said 23 of its soldiers were killed in the fighting, while Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani troops — a figure Islamabad has disputed.
In a statement issued Friday, Pakistan’s army said its forces had “effectively targeted and eliminated terrorist hideouts” along the frontier, claiming the dead included members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups. Both sides accused the other of destroying multiple border posts during the exchanges.
The clashes followed Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week that reportedly targeted the TTP leadership inside Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Pakistani security officials said the strikes were aimed at a senior TTP commander, though it remains unclear whether he survived. The Taliban administration condemned the attacks, calling them a violation of Afghan sovereignty.
Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said its forces fired in retaliation for those strikes and later halted operations at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which both issued statements urging restraint. “The Islamic Emirate and the people of Afghanistan will defend their land and remain resolute,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, insisting Afghan territory posed “no threat to any country.”
Local officials reported that while heavy fighting had largely subsided by Friday morning, intermittent gunfire continued in parts of Pakistan’s Kurram tribal district. Pakistan has since closed its two main border crossings with Afghanistan — Torkham and Chaman — as well as three smaller ones at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda, and Ghulam Khan.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban administration of sheltering militants from the TTP, which seeks to overthrow Pakistan’s government and impose its own strict interpretation of Islamic rule. Kabul denies those allegations, saying it does not allow its territory to be used for attacks on neighbouring countries.
The closure of border crossings threatens to worsen economic hardships for landlocked Afghanistan, which depends heavily on trade routes through Pakistan.
Friday’s fighting underscores growing tension between the two countries, whose 2,600-kilometre shared border has seen frequent skirmishes since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
