Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated sharply after Taliban forces launched a series of retaliatory attacks along the border, reportedly killing 15 Pakistani soldiers. The strikes came in response to Pakistan’s recent air operations in Kabul and Paktika provinces, which Afghanistan has condemned as a violation of its sovereignty.
According to Mawlawi Mohammad Qasim Riaz, spokesperson for the Helmand provincial government, the clashes occurred near the Durand Line in the Bahrampur district of Helmand province. He stated that Afghan forces not only inflicted heavy casualties but also captured three Pakistani military outposts, seizing weapons and ammunition during the overnight operation.
The Taliban-run Defence Ministry confirmed that its forces had engaged Pakistani troops in multiple provinces along the border, including Helmand, Kandahar, Zabul, Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar, and Kunar. In a statement, the ministry said that Afghan forces were responding to “unprovoked airstrikes” carried out by Pakistan inside Afghan territory.
Defence ministry spokesman Enayat Khowarazm told AFP that the operations were “successful” and concluded at midnight. He warned that any further violation of Afghanistan’s airspace would be met with a firm military response.
Islamabad, however, has neither confirmed nor denied conducting the airstrikes, maintaining that Kabul must stop providing sanctuary to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. The TTP, an ideological ally of the Afghan Taliban, has intensified its attacks on Pakistani forces in recent months, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
A senior Pakistani security official told AFP that heavy exchanges of fire had taken place along several border points, and Pakistani forces had downed three Afghan quadcopters suspected of carrying explosives. “Intense fighting continues,” he said, “but so far no casualties have been reported on our side.”
The United Nations had earlier reported that the TTP continues to receive “substantial logistical and operational support” from Afghanistan’s de facto authorities — a claim the Taliban government in Kabul has denied.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif recently told the National Assembly that diplomatic efforts to persuade the Taliban to rein in the TTP had failed. “We will not tolerate this any longer,” he said, vowing action against militant sanctuaries “whether on our soil or Afghan soil.”
The situation remains tense along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with fears of further escalation between the two neighbours amid rising cross-border violence and mutual accusations of harbouring militants.
