 "Major border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan were shut on October 12 after intense overnight clashes, following Taliban allegations that Islamabad conducted air strikes earlier in the week, officials said. (Photo: AFP)")
Afghanistan on Sunday claimed that it had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in overnight border operations, saying the action was in response to repeated violations of its territory and airspace. The Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Afghan forces had captured 25 Pakistani army posts, leaving 58 soldiers dead and 30 wounded.
The Afghan Defence Ministry said its forces carried out “retaliatory and successful operations” along the frontier late Saturday, following what it called continued Pakistani aggression. It warned that any future violations of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity would meet a “strong response.” State-run broadcaster RTA reported that the “revenge operation” captured three Pakistani military posts, killing 15 soldiers in an area bordering southern Helmand province.
Earlier in the week, Afghan authorities had accused Pakistan of bombing Kabul and a market in eastern Afghanistan, though Islamabad did not claim responsibility for those attacks. Afghan state media also reported that more than a dozen Pakistani soldiers had been killed, but there was no immediate confirmation from Islamabad.
Border closed as both sides exchange fire
The Torkham border crossing, a major trade route between the two nations, remained closed on Sunday morning after the clashes. Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, condemned the overnight assault, saying 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.”
A senior Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Afghan forces opened fire in several northwestern border areas, including Chitral, Bajaur, Mohmand, Angoor Adda, and Kurram districts. Pakistani troops reportedly responded with heavy weaponry near Tirah in Khyber district and across the border in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. Another official confirmed that one person was killed and another wounded when a mortar shell from the Afghan side landed in Tiri village, Kurram district.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry voiced concern over the escalation, urging both countries to show restraint and prioritise dialogue and diplomacy. The two neighbours share a 2,611-kilometre (1,622-mile) frontier known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never formally recognised.