Taliban, Pakistani forces clash along border after alleged air strikes

Afghanistan’s Taliban-run defence ministry said its forces launched retaliatory operations against Pakistani soldiers “in various areas along the border” after air strikes “on Kabul and other parts of the country.”

Defence ministry spokesman Enayat Khowarazm told AFP the “successful” operations ended at midnight but warned that any further “violation of Afghanistan’s territory” would be met with a strong response.

Pakistan has not confirmed responsibility for the air strikes but called on Kabul to “stop harbouring the Pakistani Taliban (TTP),” whom Islamabad blames for a surge in cross-border attacks since 2021.

Officials from several Afghan provinces, including Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktia, Khost, and Helmand, confirmed that exchanges of heavy fire took place along the border. A senior Pakistani security official in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said Afghan forces “fired both light and heavy artillery at four points,” prompting Pakistani retaliation, AFP reported.

He added that three Afghan quadcopters “suspected of carrying explosives” were shot down, though no casualties have yet been reported.

The escalation comes amid a sharp uptick in violence attributed to the TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban and has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks targeting Pakistani security forces.

Earlier on Saturday, the TTP said it carried out coordinated strikes in northwestern Pakistan that killed at least 20 soldiers and three civilians.

Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban government of allowing the TTP to operate from Afghan soil, an allegation Kabul denies.

A UN report earlier this year said the TTP receives “substantial logistical and operational support” from Afghanistan’s de facto authorities.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told parliament Thursday that diplomatic efforts to convince Kabul to rein in the group had failed.

“We will not tolerate this any longer,” Asif said. “We must respond to those facilitating them, whether the hideouts are on our soil or Afghan soil.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged both countries “to exercise restraint,” warning that regional stability depends on preventing further escalation.