Heavy Clashes Erupt Along Pakistan-Afghanistan Border After Taliban Attacks On Pakistani Posts | World News
Heavy clashes broke out on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on Saturday night, with both sides opening heavy fire at several locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. The clashes mark a significant escalation in cross-border tensions following controversial airstrikes in Kabul earlier this week.
Taliban forces opened fire on several border posts in Pakistan late Saturday, according to Pakistani security officials, prompting what they described as a “swift and intense response” targeting Afghan positions. Meanwhile, Taliban officials claimed that the attack was in retaliation for Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan territory.
Contradictory Explanations of Violence
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Pakistani security officials told Dawn that their forces claimed to have “effectively targeted several Afghan border posts” and caused serious damage to several Afghan positions and militant formations. The firing occurred at important border points like Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baramcha in Balochistan.
“The counter-attack effectively targeted and destroyed several Afghan outposts on the border. Dozens of Afghan soldiers and Harij were killed in the retaliatory fire,” The Express Tribune reported, citing Pakistani security sources. “Kharijite” is the Pakistani state’s term for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Taliban border forces offered a different narrative, stating that the clashes broke out “in retaliation for airstrikes by Pakistani forces.” The Afghan military said border forces in the east “engaged in heavy clashes against Pakistani forces’ positions in various border areas.”
Taliban officials from Kunar, Nangarhar, Potika, Khost and Helmand provinces on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border confirmed the conflict. Some Taliban sources claimed that two Pakistani border posts were captured in Helmand province; local authorities reportedly confirmed this, but this could not be independently verified.
Pakistan launches ‘retaliatory operation’ against Afghanistan – state media reports MASSIVE artillery fire overnight – PTV News https://t.co/r9amR2q0IH pic.twitter.com/IFJpznRye7 — RT (@RT_com) October 11, 2025
Kabul Airstrike Dispute
The current increase follows reports of airstrikes in Kabul earlier this week. Although Islamabad did not confirm carrying out the attacks, it called on Kabul to “stop hosting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its territory.”
Pakistani security sources told The Express Tribune that Saturday’s Taliban attack was aimed at “facilitating the illegal entry of Harij into Pakistani territory”; The allegation frames the violence in Pakistan’s ongoing war against TTP militants who it claims are harboring in Afghanistan.
Late on Thursday, a Taliban spokesman said an explosion had been heard in Kabul but downplayed the incident, saying “nobody needs to worry, everything is well and good” and said investigations were ongoing, with no damage reported.
Military Thriller and Weapons
Reports indicate that Pakistan has deployed artillery, tanks and both light and heavy weapons in its counter-offensives along the border. The scale of the conflict suggests that this was not a minor skirmish but a major military conflict involving significant firepower on both sides.
Political Context and Warnings
This increase came during Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s week-long visit to India, the first high-level visit from Kabul since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The timing adds another layer of complexity to an already unstable regional situation.
On 10 October, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told the National Assembly that “collateral damage” if Pakistani security forces were attacked could not be ignored and said “enough is enough”.
Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad expressed concern about Pakistan’s reported attacks in Kabul on Friday, saying they were a “major escalation” that posed dangerous risks. In a post published on
