ALBAWABA- Fierce clashes along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border intensified on Tuesday, marking a second consecutive day of deadly hostilities that have killed dozens and paralyzed cross-border trade.
The fighting, the worst since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover, erupted near the Torkham and Chaman crossings, fueled by mutual accusations of airspace violations and militant incursions.
Pakistan’s military reported 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded since Saturday, claiming that more than 200 Taliban fighters were killed in retaliatory air and artillery strikes on 21 Afghan border posts.
In contrast, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 58 Pakistani troops had been killed, nine Taliban fighters lost, and 25 Pakistani positions captured with weapons seized.
Major crossings remain sealed for a third day, stranding thousands of traders and refugees and choking vital commerce between the two landlocked nations.
Taliban authorities in Paktika province ordered civilian evacuations amid fears of an expanded conflict. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed a “strong response,” while Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, speaking from India, asserted Afghanistan’s right to defend its sovereignty.
The violence traces back to Pakistan’s October 9 airstrikes on alleged Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts inside Afghan territory, attacks Kabul denounced as blatant violations of its airspace.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the TTP, which has carried out hundreds of assaults in Pakistan this year using advanced U.S.-supplied weaponry abandoned after the U.S. withdrawal.
The Taliban deny harboring the group but face internal rifts over how to handle the militants.
Underlying the crisis is the disputed Durand Line, a 2,640-kilometer colonial border Afghanistan has never formally recognized, as well as Pakistan’s expulsion of 1.7 million Afghan refugees, ongoing water disputes, and growing Kabul–New Delhi ties that have irked Islamabad.
Regional mediators, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, briefly brokered a ceasefire over the weekend, but shelling resumed within hours.
