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The deadly exchanges involved the use of airstrikes, heavy artillery, and small arms, resulting in dozens of casualties, including a significant number of civilians
Intense fighting has been going on between Pakistani security forces and the Afghan Taliban. (Representational Image/AFP)
Following intense cross-border fighting between Pakistani and Afghan forces early on Tuesday night and then on Wednesday near the vital trade crossing that connects southeastern Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak district with Pakistan’s Chaman district, the two countries agreed on a 48-hour ceasefire. The deadly exchanges involved the use of airstrikes, heavy artillery, and small arms, resulting in dozens of casualties, including a significant number of civilians, and underscoring the severe deterioration of relations between the two neighbours.
Casualty reports from both sides remain sharply conflicting, a common feature of the volatile border dynamics. Afghan Taliban officials claimed that at least 15 civilians were killed by mortar fire in Spin Boldak, with dozens more wounded, primarily women and children. Local hospital officials in Spin Boldak confirmed the high number of civilian casualties. Pakistan, meanwhile, reported injuries to its own civilians across the border in Chaman from what it termed “Taliban forces” attacks. Pakistan’s military also claimed to have killed over 40 Afghan Taliban and affiliated fighters in its retaliatory actions across various border sectors. At least three Afghan-Taliban posts on the border were struck on Wednesday, local sources said, adding they saw drones and aerial strikes.
Location: The main fighting is concentrated at the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing, a vital border point, but clashes have also been reported along other parts of the Durand Line, including near Pakistan’s Kurram district.
Contradictory Claims: Both nations accuse the other of provoking the violence and have traded wildly conflicting casualty claims.
The Afghanistan Taliban claimed to have killed as many as 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory operations and to have captured or destroyed numerous Pakistani military posts and equipment. They report over a dozen Afghan civilian deaths and over 100 wounded in the Spin Boldak area from Pakistani shelling.
Pakistan reported the death of at least 23 of its own troops in the initial clashes. Pakistani forces claim to have killed over 200 Taliban and affiliated fighters (including TTP militants) in retaliatory actions, destroying several Afghan posts and tanks.
Civilian Impact: The fighting has hit civilian areas on both sides, forcing mass evacuations in border towns like Spin Boldak and Chaman. Hospitals have issued urgent calls for blood donations as the number of injured—including many women and children—climbs rapidly.
The Durand Line Dispute: The recent flare-up is rooted in a combination of long-standing boundary disputes and the immediate crisis of cross-border militancy. The 2,640-kilometre border drawn by the British in 1893 remains disputed. Pakistan considers it the legitimate international boundary and has been fortifying it with fences, gates, and checkpoints, a move strongly rejected by all Afghan governments, including the current Taliban administration, which argues it arbitrarily divides ethnic Pashtun communities. Afghan forces have been reported to have destroyed a Pakistani-built border gate at Spin Boldak.
Cross-Border Militancy: Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of harbouring and supporting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—a separate but allied militant group that has escalated attacks inside Pakistan since 2021. Islamabad views the TTP as a critical security threat operating from Afghan soil.
Trigger for Escalation: The latest round of fighting appears to be a direct retaliation by the Afghan side following Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week, which Afghan officials claimed hit targets in Kabul and a marketplace in eastern Afghanistan, causing casualties. Pakistan has not formally claimed responsibility for the airstrikes but maintains its right to defend itself against militants operating from Afghanistan.
Border Closures: In the wake of the clashes, Pakistan has closed the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing and the Torkham crossing, the two main land routes. This abruptly halted all trade and humanitarian aid delivery, leaving thousands of travellers and scores of cargo trucks stranded on both sides of the frontier.
Diplomatic Tensions: The escalation comes at a particularly sensitive moment. The clashes occurred while Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was making his first official visit to India, a major geopolitical rival to Pakistan, highlighting Kabul’s efforts to diversify its regional diplomatic engagements amidst rising tensions with Islamabad.
Calls for Calm: Following the initial weekend clashes, regional powers, notably Saudi Arabia and Qatar, intervened, successfully brokering a temporary halt to the fighting. However, this calm proved fragile, with hostilities resuming quickly as the core disputes remain unresolved, with a temporary truce now in place. The overall situation is described by analysts as highly “precarious”.
Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via …Read More
Pathikrit Sen Gupta is a Senior Associate Editor with News18.com and likes to cut a long story short. He writes sporadically on Politics, Sports, Global Affairs, Space, Entertainment, And Food. He trawls X via … Read More
October 15, 2025, 4:54 PM IST
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