By Obinna Uballa
Dozens of troops and civilians have been killed in fierce cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as hostilities between the two neighbours entered a second week on Wednesday.
Officials on both sides confirmed the escalating violence, which erupted after a string of deadly explosions in Afghanistan last week – including two in the capital, Kabul – that Islamabad blamed on Pakistan-based militants allegedly sheltered by the Taliban government, AFP reported.
In response, the Taliban launched a sweeping offensive along parts of Afghanistan’s southern frontier, prompting Pakistan to vow a powerful counterattack. The renewed hostilities mark one of the most serious escalations between the two countries since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Pakistan’s military said Afghan Taliban fighters launched coordinated assaults on two major border posts in the country’s southwest and northwest regions early Wednesday. According to the military, about 20 Taliban fighters were killed in attacks near Spin Boldak, on the Afghan side of the border in southern Kandahar province.
“Unfortunately, the attack was orchestrated through divided villages in the area, with no regard for the civilian population,” Pakistan’s army said in a statement, adding that another 30 militants were believed to have died in overnight clashes along the northwest frontier.
The Taliban, however, accused Pakistani forces of heavy shelling that killed at least 15 civilians and wounded dozens more. Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that “two to three” Taliban fighters were killed, while more than 100 civilians were injured in the fighting.
Mujahid alleged that Pakistani troops “once again carried out attacks with light and heavy weapons” in Spin Boldak, seizing several Afghan border posts before calm was restored. Pakistan’s military dismissed the claims as “outrageous and blatant lies.”
Islamabad did not disclose its casualties in the latest round of fighting but confirmed that 23 soldiers were killed in the initial skirmishes last week.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of terror as shells and bullets rained on border communities. “Houses were fired upon, including my cousin’s. His son and wife were killed, and four of his children were wounded,” said Sadiq, a resident of Spin Boldak.
Across the border in Chaman, Pakistan, locals recounted “total chaos” as fighting erupted before dawn. “Our children and women were terrified and began screaming… we had no idea what was happening,” said Raaz Muhammad, a 51-year-old resident.
In a separate incident, seven Pakistani frontier troops were killed in an attack on a checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s Peshawar region. The newly-emerged Ittehad-ul-Mujahideen militant group claimed responsibility.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament last week that repeated efforts to persuade the Afghan Taliban to stop backing the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had failed.
Islamabad accuses the TTP, an offshoot ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, of carrying out hundreds of deadly attacks on Pakistani forces since 2021. Kabul, however, denies sheltering the group.
Tensions flared after last week’s explosions in Afghanistan coincided with a rare visit by the Taliban’s top diplomat to India, Pakistan’s arch-rival. No group has claimed responsibility for those bombings.
Clashes intensified over the weekend when Kabul said its forces launched operations in at least five provinces “in retaliation for air strikes by the Pakistani army.” Islamabad, in turn, vowed a “forceful and decisive” response.
With casualties mounting and border villages deserted, fears are growing that the two uneasy neighbours could slide into a broader conflict, one that risks destabilising the already fragile region.
