Pakistani, Afghan forces exchange deadly border fire: What’s next?

Pakistani and Afghan forces have exchanged deadly fire at multiple locations along their border, and the two sides claim to have captured and destroyed border posts in one of the worst border clashes in recent years.

The Taliban administration’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at least 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in “retaliatory” attacks on Saturday night, two days after blasts were reported in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and the southeastern province of Paktika.
vThe Pakistani military admitted 23 of its soldiers were dead while claiming to have killed 200 Taliban and affiliated “terrorists”. Pakistan’s interior minister called the Afghan attacks “unprovoked firing”.

The Taliban government has accused Pakistan of carrying out Thursday’s bombings. Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.

Pakistan was accused of backing Taliban fighters during their rebellion against the United States-led occupation of Afghanistan and was one of only three countries that recognised the first Taliban government from 1996 to 2001.

But the rise of attacks inside Pakistan since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021 has strained their ties as Islamabad has accused the Taliban administration of providing safe haven to fighters from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban. Kabul has denied the allegations.

So what’s the latest on the fighting? What triggered the clashes? And is the situation expected to escalate further?
What’s the latest?
The Taliban attacks on Pakistan border areas began about 10pm (17:00 GMT) on Saturday, and the exchange of fire took place at multiple locations.
Pakistani officials and state-run radio noted that those locations included Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir and Chitral – all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – and Bahram Chah in Balochistan.
Mujahid said Afghan forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, captured 25 army posts and wounded 30 soldiers in their attacks.

“The situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control, and illegal activities have been largely prevented,” Mujahid said at a news conference in Kabul.

Afghanistan’s TOLOnews channel reported on Sunday that the Ministry of Defence is deploying tanks and heavy weapons in several areas of Kunar province on the 2,640km (1,640-mile) border, also referred to as the colonial-era Durand Line.

The Pakistani military on Sunday condemned what it called “the cowardly action”, saying it was aimed at destabilising the border to facilitate terrorism”.

“Exercising the right of self-defence, the alert Armed Forces of Pakistan repelled the assault decisively,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.

“Last night’s episode vindicates Pakistan’s long-standing position that the Taliban government is actively facilitating the terrorists,” ISPR said. At least 29 soldiers were injured during the overnight skirmishes, it added.

The Pakistani military claimed multiple Taliban locations were destroyed along the border and “21 hostile positions on the Afghan side of the border were also briefly physically captured and multiple terrorist training camps used to plan and facilitate attacks against Pakistan were rendered inoperative.”

While the exchange of fire is mostly over, residents of Pakistan’s Kurram area reported intermittent gunfire.