Afghanistan and Pakistan claim to have killed dozens of soldiers in border clash

Afghanistan’s Taliban troops exchanged deadly fire with Pakistani forces at the countries’ shared border overnight, as tensions between the nations - which have accused the other of harbouring enemy militants - erupted.

Both countries claimed to have killed scores of the other side’s forces in the clashes and cited different death tolls. The Washington Post could not independently verify either side’s figures, but the numbers appear to represent the most severe confrontation between the two nations since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

In a news conference Sunday morning, local time, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Taliban troops launched attacks at locations across the border, claiming to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers while losing some nine of its own soldiers.

In a statement Sunday, Pakistan’s military claimed to have killed over 200 Taliban troops and aligned militants, while accusing Afghanistan of killing 23 of its own soldiers.

Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said the attacks were in response to violations of its territory, days after the Taliban accused Pakistan of striking a market in the Paktika border province.

Kabul claimed to have captured some 20 Pakistani army posts overnight, while Islamabad claimed to have temporarily captured 21 Afghan army posts.

Ishaq Dar, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said Sunday on X that the overnight Afghan strikes marked “a serious provocation.” He said Pakistani forces had struck Taliban infrastructure and militant groups operating in Afghanistan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party, accused Afghan forces late Sunday of “unprovoked aggression” and said Pakistan had responded with “restraint & resolve.”

By Sunday afternoon, the Afghan government appeared keen to dial back the rhetoric and high tensions, after diplomats in Riyadh and Doha released statements urging de-escalation.

“We achieved our objective,” said Amir Khan Muttaqi, Afghanistan’s foreign minister, at a news conference in New Delhi. “Then … friendly governments, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, they asked us to stop the war. So from our side, we stopped the fighting and now the situation is under control. So we want good relations; we keep our doors open for talks.”

Both Afghan and Pakistani foreign ministers said Sunday that their country’s forces would not target the other’s civilians.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long skirmished along their 2500km-long border, which Afghanistan refers to as the Durand Line.

Both nations, on Sunday and in the past, have traded accusations that the other is harbouring enemy militant groups.

On Friday, Mr Mujahid accused Pakistan of striking a bazaar in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, along their shared border, as well as violating the airspace over Kabul with military aircraft.

Asked whether Islamabad was responsible for the alleged breaches, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Choudhary said Friday, “For the protection of our citizens, we are going to any extent, we have been taking measures and will be doing whatever we can.”

In December, the Afghan government accused Pakistan of killing 46 people in the country’s east, including women and children. Pakistani officials said the strikes targeted militants of the Pakistani Taliban.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated dramatically in the four years since the fall of Afghanistan’s government to Taliban forces. The Taliban’s victory energized its Pakistani counterpart, influencing Taliban militants across the border to adopt some of the same playbook.

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