Both Afghanistan and Pakistan reported fighting along their shared border on Thursday, but each gave sharply different accounts of the violence and of casualties.
A Taliban government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said Taliban fighters mounted large-scale operations against Pakistani military posts along the Durand Line in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes on Sunday that Kabul described as an unauthorized incursion. The Durand Line is the disputed 2,611-kilometer boundary that Afghanistan does not formally recognize. Mujahid posted frequent social media updates saying Taliban forces seized positions across several districts and that operations were under way in five provinces. He and other Taliban spokesmen claimed many Pakistani soldiers were killed or captured, saying as many as 55 were killed and that remains of 23 had been returned to Afghan-held areas.
Islamabad rejected those figures. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan lost two soldiers and had three wounded, and he said Pakistan was mounting a strong response to what he called an unprovoked Afghan attack. Explosions were later reported in Kabul after the Pakistani statement. A spokesman for the prime minister said Pakistan had confirmed 133 Taliban fighters killed and more than 200 wounded in strikes on Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that Pakistan’s patience had reached its limit and described the situation as open war with the Afghan Taliban.
Earlier exchanges across the border on Tuesday produced cross-border fire without casualties, but Thursday’s clashes marked a fresh escalation. Tensions between the neighbors have been rising since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, deteriorating further in recent months. Deadly fighting in October killed more than 70 people on both sides, and land border crossings have largely remained closed since then. Multiple rounds of talks and ceasefire efforts brokered by Qatar and Turkey failed to produce a lasting settlement. Saudi Arabia recently helped secure the release of three Pakistani soldiers who had been captured in October.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of not acting against militant groups that it says use Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan, notably the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist fighters. Pakistani airstrikes followed a series of deadly suicide bombings in Pakistan, including an attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad claimed by Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K).
Regional powers urged restraint. Iran offered to help facilitate dialogue, and Russia called on both sides to immediately halt cross-border attacks and resolve disputes through diplomacy.
The conflicting accounts of battlefield gains and casualties highlight how difficult it is to independently verify claims as the situation remains volatile.