Pakistan reports a new clash with Afghan forces along border

Armed Taliban security personnel keep guard near the closed gate of the zero point border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan at Spin Boldak district in Kandahar province on October 12, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 15 October 2025
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Pakistan reports a new clash with Afghan forces along border

  • This is the second time in one week that the two sides have traded fire along their long border 
  • Pakistan state media said Afghan forces, TTP militants jointly opened fire at Pakistani post “without provocation” 

PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Clashes erupted Tuesday between Pakistani and Afghan forces in a remote northwestern border region, with state-run media in Pakistan accusing Afghan troops of opening “unprovoked fire” that was repulsed.

Pakistani forces responded, damaging Afghan tanks and military posts, according to Pakistan TV and two security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Tahir Ahrar, a deputy police spokesperson in Afghanistan’s Khost province, confirmed the clashes but provided no further details.

This is the second time this week that the two sides have traded fire along their long border.

According to Pakistan’s state-run media, Afghan forces and Pakistani Taliban jointly opened fire at a Pakistani post “without provocation,” prompting what the media described as a “strong response” from Pakistani troops in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Security officials said Pakistan's military also destroyed a sprawling training facility of the Pakistani Taliban.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan’s military, which has been on high alert since Saturday, when both sides traded fire across multiple border regions, resulting in dozens of casualties on each side.

Although the clashes halted on Sunday after appeals from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, all border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained closed.

Over the weekend, Kabul said that it targeted several Pakistani military posts and killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliation for what it called repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace. Pakistan’s military reported lower figures, saying it lost 23 soldiers and killed more than 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists” in retaliatory fire along the frontier.

Tensions have remained high since last week, when the Taliban government accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes in Kabul and in an eastern market. Pakistan has not acknowledged those allegations.

But Pakistan has previously launched strikes inside Afghanistan, saying it targets hideouts of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is separate from but allied to the Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring the group, which has carried out numerous deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the charge, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.


Pakistan PM leaves for Saudi Arabia on brief visit as Middle East crisis rages on

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Pakistan PM leaves for Saudi Arabia on brief visit as Middle East crisis rages on

  • The visit comes at a time of increased volatility in the region, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterattacks
  • Sharif and Crown Prince Mohammed will discuss the ongoing tensions, regional security and bilateral relations, Sharif’s office says

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday departed for Saudi Arabia on a brief, hours-long visit, his office said, amid an ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The visit comes at a time of increased volatility in the region, following Unites States-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s counterattacks on US bases in several Gulf countries as well as commercial and oil infrastructure, raising the spectre of a wider war.

Sharif, expected to discuss regional security and diplomatic coordination with Saudi leaders, is visiting the Kingdom on the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the prime minister’s office.

“Sharif will meet His Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” the former’s office said.

“The meeting between the two leaders will discuss the ongoing tensions in the region, the regional security situation and the bilateral relations between the two countries.”

The development came a day after Bloomberg, citing comments from Sharif’s spokesperson, reported that Pakistan is ready to support Saudi Arabia “no matter what” as tensions escalate across the Middle East following Iranian strikes on Gulf states.

Mosharraf Zaidi told Bloomberg TV Islamabad would come to Riyadh’s aid whenever required, emphasizing the longstanding security partnership between the two countries, which was further strengthened by a mutual defense pact signed in September last year.

There was “no question we might, we will” come to Saudi Arabia’s aid “no matter what and no matter when,” Zaidi said.

“Both countries, even before the defense agreement, have always operated on the principle of being there for the other,” he added.

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have historically maintained close military and strategic ties, and the new agreement elevated their security cooperation at a time of heightened regional instability.

Zaidi said Pakistan was also working diplomatically to prevent the conflict from expanding further across the region.