Heavy clashes erupt at Afg-Pak border as Taliban retaliate After Pakistan strikes

October 12, 2025

Kabul/Islamabad: Heavy fighting broke out late Saturday (Oct 11) along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border after Taliban forces launched retaliatory attacks, accusing Islamabad of carrying out airstrikes on Kabul earlier in the week.

Taliban officials from the eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost, and Helmand confirmed the clashes, which remain ongoing. The escalation comes as Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visits India, adding a diplomatic twist to the rising tensions between the two neighbours.

“In retaliation for the air strikes by Pakistani forces, Taliban border forces in the east engaged in heavy clashes against Pakistani posts in various border areas,” the Afghan military said in a statement.

A senior Pakistani official from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, told AFP, “This evening, Taliban forces began using weapons. We fired first light and then heavy artillery at four points along the border.” He added that Pakistani forces shot down three Afghan quadcopters suspected of carrying explosives. “Intense fighting continues, but so far, no casualties have been reported.”

The latest confrontation follows two powerful explosions in central Kabul and another in southeastern Afghanistan on Thursday evening (Oct 9), just two days after Pakistan issued a warning to the Taliban government. The Afghan Defence Ministry later accused Islamabad of “violating its sovereignty.”

In a sharp response on Friday (Oct 10), Muttaqi said, “There has been an attack near the border in remote areas. We consider this act of Pakistan wrong. Afghanistan has peace and progress after 40 years. The courage of Afghans should not be tested. If someone wants to do this, they should ask the Soviet Union, America, and NATO — they can explain that it is not good to play games with Afghanistan.”