On October 12, Sunday afternoon, tensions on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border intensified again, AFP reported, citing sources from both sides. According to the reports, dozens of people were killed in the armed clashes, though these numbers could not be independently verified.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban movement that holds power in Kabul, said that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in the fighting. Islamabad has not confirmed these figures. According to the Taliban statement, Afghan forces temporarily seized 20 border posts belonging to Pakistan. Mujahid described the move as a “response action” and added that nine Afghan soldiers were also killed.
Meanwhile, Pakistani media, citing security sources, reported that there were also numerous casualties on the Afghan side. According to them, Pakistani forces took control of 19 Afghan border posts. AFP also reported this information.
The conflict on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated yesterday — intense firefights broke out between Taliban fighters and Pakistani troops. Two days earlier, Kabul had accused Islamabad of carrying out airstrikes on Afghan territory.
After a series of explosions on October 9 in Kabul and southeastern Afghanistan, the Afghan Ministry of Defense accused Pakistan of violating its sovereignty. Islamabad denied the accusations and called on Kabul “to stop sheltering Pakistani Taliban on its soil.”
The Pakistani government has accused Taliban-linked armed groups of killing hundreds of Pakistani soldiers since 2021. According to official data, Pakistani Taliban receive training in Afghanistan and share the ideology of their Afghan counterparts.
Sources in Pakistan’s intelligence service told the dpa news agency that Islamabad’s strikes were aimed at Pakistani Taliban leader Noor Wali Mehsud.
Observers believe that this confrontation between the two countries could spark a new and dangerous escalation, not only militarily but also politically. The instability along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border remains a serious threat to peace across the region.
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