DST NEWS: Fresh violence has erupted along the Pakistan–Afghanistan frontier, with both Islamabad and the Taliban administration trading accusations over who violated a fragile ceasefire in place for less than two months.
The clashes broke out near the Afghan border city of Spin Boldak, a long-tense crossing point that has witnessed repeated skirmishes in recent months. Residents fled through the night as gunfire and explosions echoed across the frontier.
A health worker in Kandahar told BBC Pashto that four bodies had been brought to a local hospital, while four others were injured in the fighting. Pakistan reported three casualties on its side of the border.
Both governments acknowledged that their forces exchanged fire for nearly four hours, but each insisted the other fired the first shots.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accused Taliban fighters of “unprovoked firing” and said Pakistani forces delivered an “immediate, befitting and intense response”.
A spokesperson for the Taliban government rejected that version, claiming Pakistan had “once again initiated attacks” and that Afghan forces were compelled to retaliate.
Residents in Spin Boldak said the confrontation began around 22:30 local time on Friday. Footage shared from the area showed families fleeing on foot and in packed vehicles.
Ali Mohammed Haqmal, head of Kandahar’s information department, said Pakistani troops fired both light and heavy artillery, and several civilian homes were struck by mortar rounds.
The renewed hostilities follow a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey that halted more than a week of intense battles in which dozens were killed—the deadliest clashes between Pakistan and the Taliban since the group returned to power in 2021. Despite the truce, tensions have remained high.
Islamabad has long accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering militant groups responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation Kabul rejects. Taliban officials counter that Pakistan is deflecting blame for its “own security failures”.
According to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, Pakistan’s own Taliban faction carried out at least 600 attacks on Pakistani forces over the past year.
Delegations from both countries met in Saudi Arabia last week for a fourth round of talks aimed at a broader peace arrangement, but the negotiations ended without a breakthrough. Sources familiar with the discussions told BBC News that both sides agreed to keep talking.
Source: BBC
