Pakistan said its military posts along the border were attacked by Afghan Taliban forces on Tuesday, triggering renewed clashes that Islamabad said killed 67 Afghan fighters and one Pakistani soldier. Afghanistan rejected that account as “baseless,” and the Taliban government in Kabul said its forces had repelled Pakistani attacks and killed four Pakistani soldiers.
The latest fighting follows an escalation that began last Thursday, when Taliban troops launched a border offensive in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous weekend. Islamabad has since declared itself in an “open war” with Afghanistan and carried out strikes on multiple sites, including the former US air base at Bagram, as well as locations in Kabul and Kandahar.
The UN mission in Afghanistan reported that 42 civilians had been killed and 104 wounded since the clashes began, while the UN World Food Programme said about 20,000 families had been displaced. The UN called for an immediate halt to the fighting, saying it was worsening an already dire humanitarian situation. The UN also said dozens of civilians were killed by indirect fire striking residential areas.
Casualty figures differ sharply depending on the source. Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Enayatullah Khowarazmi said at a Kabul press conference that Afghan forces had launched a counteroffensive along the Durand Line in the past 24 hours; he reported 28 Afghan soldiers killed and claimed roughly 150 Pakistani troop fatalities. Pakistan, however, has put the toll at about 150 Pakistani troops dead and more than 450 Afghan fighters killed since the start of the conflict. Independent verification of either side’s claims was not possible.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out attacks inside Pakistan; Kabul rejects the accusation. Afghan Defense Minister Khawarazmi said the government “will not allow any person or group to use our territory against other countries.”
The current violence is the worst seen since October, when clashes killed more than 70 people on both sides. Several rounds of peace talks held in Turkey in November failed to produce a lasting agreement. Pakistan says it will continue military operations until Afghanistan takes steps to rein in the TTP and other militant groups. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said it was “never too late to talk,” while also vowing to “finish this menace.”
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko