Pakistan and Afghanistan Close Border Crossings After Deadly Clashes and Reported Airstrikes

Heavy fighting leaves soldiers dead and trade at a standstill

Pakistan reported 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded, while Afghan officials reported nine fighters killed and at least 16 injured, after heavy overnight clashes along their roughly 2,600 km frontier. The fighting was the most serious between the neighbors since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021.

Major border crossings were closed, thousands of cargo trucks were stranded, and communities endured hours of shelling and machine gun fire. By Sunday morning, the exchanges had largely subsided, although local officials reported intermittent gunfire in parts of Pakistan's Kurram district.

The clashes followed reports of Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul and on a market in eastern Afghanistan earlier in the week. Pakistan had not publicly acknowledged those strikes. Afghan authorities described their subsequent attacks on Pakistani positions as retaliation for violations of Afghan territory. Pakistan described the Afghan fire as an unprovoked assault.

Each government claimed to have inflicted much heavier losses than the other acknowledged. Pakistan's military said more than 200 Afghan Taliban and allied fighters were killed. Afghan officials rejected that account and claimed their forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers. Those claims, along with competing accounts of captured or destroyed border posts, could not be independently verified because access to the mountainous border belt was limited.

Afghan authorities said their operation ended at midnight following appeals from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Iran also urged restraint. As of October 15, 2025, the confrontation had brought together several unresolved disputes: militant attacks inside Pakistan, Afghan objections to strikes on its territory, restrictions on border movement, and a relationship increasingly strained since the Taliban's return to power.

How the confrontation unfolded

Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of violating their airspace and striking civilian sites earlier in the week. They vowed to respond. Late Saturday, Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani border posts at multiple points, according to officials in both countries.

Pakistan said its forces returned fire with guns and artillery and carried out strikes against Taliban positions across the frontier. Its military also described the use of air power and ground raids. Both governments said they were defending their sovereignty, meaning their authority over their own territory, and both said their attacks were designed to avoid civilian casualties.

• Earlier in the week: Reports described Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul and on a market in eastern Afghanistan. Pakistan did not publicly acknowledge them.
• Late Saturday: Afghan forces opened fire on Pakistani border positions, and Pakistan responded with gunfire, artillery and strikes across the frontier.
• At midnight: Afghan officials said they stopped their retaliatory operation after requests from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
• By Sunday morning: Most exchanges had subsided, although sporadic firing continued in some areas, including parts of Kurram.

Pakistan's leaders condemned attacks launched from Afghan territory as unprovoked. The Taliban administration said it was answering repeated incursions into Afghan airspace and warned that further violations would bring a stronger response.

What the casualty figures and battlefield claims say

Pakistan's military put its own losses at 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded; Afghan officials claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers. Afghan authorities reported nine of their own fighters killed and at least 16 injured, while Pakistan claimed more than 200 Afghan Taliban and allied fighters had died.

Afghan officials said their forces captured or destroyed several Pakistani army posts inside the border zone and took or neutralized multiple positions. Pakistan said it repelled the assaults, destroyed Taliban positions, and struck training sites along the frontier.

Neither the casualty claims about opposing forces nor the accounts of damage to border infrastructure had been independently corroborated. Restricted access meant the true scale of the destruction could take days to establish.

Border communities endure hours of gunfire

Fighting was reported at Angoor Adda in South Waziristan, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Bahram Chah. The spread of those locations showed that the confrontation involved several sensitive stretches of the frontier rather than a single checkpoint.

Residents of Pakistan's Kurram district described shelling and machine gun fire continuing through the night. Some families moved to safer ground, while others stayed indoors until the firing eased. Heavy weapons echoed through valleys on both sides of the border.

Shabbir Khan, a resident of Kurram district, described the duration of the barrage:

The fighting went on for hours without pause,

Aziz Sayar, a resident of Afghanistan's Kunar Province, described the fear among families as gunfire intensified late in the evening:

Our children screamed in fear as bullets echoed through the night,

Afghan defense officials said their operation concluded at midnight after regional partners appealed for a halt. Pakistani officials nevertheless reported sporadic firing in a few pockets on Sunday. For communities near the fighting, the broader reduction in exchanges still left uncertainty about whether it was safe to move outside.

A disputed frontier becomes a closed route

Pakistan closed the major commercial and pedestrian crossings at Torkham and Chaman, together with smaller crossings at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan. The closures stopped traffic at short notice, leaving travelers and businesses unable to make journeys they depended on for trade and family visits.

The frontier is known as the Durand Line. Drawn by the British in 1893, it crosses tribal lands and rugged mountains. Pakistan regards it as the international border, while Afghan governments have never formally recognized it.

That disagreement has repeatedly fed disputes over border fencing and the placement of checkpoints. Decades of war, together with the movement of fighters and smugglers, have added to the volatility of the frontier.

Thousands of trucks wait as businesses count losses

Torkham, the busiest crossing between the two countries, was left with thousands of cargo trucks stranded by the shutdown. Loads of fresh produce, medicine and consumer goods sat idle while drivers and traders calculated their losses.

Businesses along the frontier depend on regular movement across it. A closure interrupts the delivery of goods and the income earned from transporting and selling them. Travelers with relatives on the other side also faced delays and uncertainty.

Business owners warned that even a short stoppage could take weeks to unwind. Once traffic resumes, the accumulated trucks and delayed deliveries create backlogs that continue to affect supply chains. Each additional day of closure places more pressure on an already fragile regional economy and on livelihoods in border communities.

Pakistan and Afghanistan set out opposing positions

Pakistan's military said it would not tolerate Afghan territory being used to plan and stage attacks against Pakistan. Its security briefings described strikes on hostile positions across the border and the killing of large numbers of fighters, while stressing efforts to limit civilian harm.

Ahmad Sharif, the Pakistani army's chief spokesperson, said militants hostile to Pakistan were operating from Afghanistan:

Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations against Pakistan, and there is proof and evidence of that,

The Taliban administration rejected Pakistan's account and warned against violations of Afghan sovereignty. Zabihullah Mujahid, the government's chief spokesman, said the situation inside Afghanistan was under control and presented the overnight attacks as a defense of national territory:

There is no kind of threat in any part of Afghanistan's territory. The Islamic Emirate and the people of Afghanistan will defend their land and remain resolute and committed in this defence,

Hamdullah Fitrat, another spokesman for the Taliban government, said Kabul would respond to breaches of its airspace or borders:

Afghanistan has the right to defend its airspace and borders, and no aggressions will go unanswered,

Both governments therefore framed their actions as self defense. Pakistan focused on attacks it said were being organized from Afghan territory. Afghan authorities focused on Pakistani military action inside Afghanistan. Those opposing explanations left the underlying security dispute unresolved even after most firing stopped.

The TTP dispute and rising violence inside Pakistan

The Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, lies at the center of the deteriorating relationship. The extremist group targets the Pakistani state. Islamabad says its leaders shelter in Afghanistan and use Afghan territory to plan and carry out attacks.

Afghan authorities deny that accusation and say they do not allow foreign militants to operate on their territory. The disagreement has hardened since 2021, when the Taliban takeover turned former allies into neighbors increasingly at odds over security.

Independent trackers recorded more than 2,400 fatalities in Pakistan during the first three quarters of the year, many linked to attacks in border provinces. Pakistani officials said an increase in ambushes and bombings against security forces prompted recent operations across the frontier.

Kabul regards those operations as violations of its sovereignty. Pakistan presents them as a response to threats originating across the border. For civilians, that dispute means violence inside Pakistan can be followed by strikes in Afghanistan and then retaliatory fire against Pakistani positions.

Afghans living in Pakistan face another source of tension. Islamabad has moved to deport large numbers of undocumented Afghans, sending tens of thousands back across the border in recent months. Humanitarian groups warn that sudden mass movements place pressure on Afghan communities already facing economic hardship.

The latest crossing closures add obstacles to legal travel and trade alongside those population movements. Families with connections in both countries must navigate both tighter movement restrictions and uncertainty about security near the frontier.

India visit coincides with regional appeals for restraint

The fighting overlapped with a rare visit to India by Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister. India said it would upgrade relations, a development that unsettled officials in Islamabad because of the long rivalry between India and Pakistan.

Pakistani authorities have also alleged that some groups fighting their forces receive outside backing. Afghan officials reject those claims. Pakistan was reported to have placed some units on high alert near the Indian frontier to guard against an opportunistic escalation.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to reduce tensions. Afghan officials said requests from Qatar and Saudi Arabia led them to pause their operations at midnight. Those appeals provided a diplomatic opening after the heavy exchanges.

Mediation by partners trusted by the two governments could help reopen crossings and reduce the risk of further barrages. Restoring direct communication between their militaries would provide a way to discuss incidents quickly and reduce the chance that a local confrontation grows into wider fighting.

Different military strengths shape the risk of renewed fighting

Pakistan has a modern air force and the ability to carry out strikes across much of Afghanistan. Taliban forces draw strength from ground positions near the border and from the ability to exert pressure inside Pakistan through sympathetic militant networks.

Those different capabilities shape the choices available to each side. Pakistan can use air power and artillery to impose costs across the frontier. Afghan forces can conduct quick raids and use difficult terrain to harass border outposts.

Further air or drone strikes inside Afghanistan would carry a strong risk of renewed retaliatory fire. Another exchange would expose nearby communities to fresh danger and could deepen a cycle in which each government answers the other's military action.

Both governments nevertheless appeared wary of a wider war. Afghan officials announced a halt at midnight, crossings were closed rather than seized, and regional governments publicly appealed for restraint. Those developments suggested an effort to pause before taking further steps.

The immediate issues remain concrete: whether border crossings can reopen, whether military channels can manage new incidents, and whether the two governments can address the TTP dispute through dialogue and steps that can be checked on the ground. Without progress on those matters, traders, travelers and families along the frontier remain exposed to another sudden shutdown or night of shelling.

What to Know

• Pakistan reported 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded. Afghan officials reported nine fighters killed and at least 16 injured.
• Pakistan claimed more than 200 opposing fighters were killed; Afghan officials claimed 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed. Enemy casualty claims and accounts of destroyed posts remained unverified.
• The clashes followed reported Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul and on an eastern Afghan market earlier in the week. Pakistan had not publicly acknowledged those strikes.
• Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border positions late Saturday. Pakistan responded with gunfire, artillery, air power and ground raids.
• Torkham, Chaman, Kharlachi, Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan were closed, leaving thousands of cargo trucks stranded and disrupting travel.
• Afghan officials said operations stopped at midnight after requests from Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Iran also urged restraint.
• Pakistan accuses the TTP of using Afghan territory to organize attacks. Afghan authorities deny allowing foreign militants to operate there.
• The confrontation coincided with Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's visit to India and India's announcement that it would upgrade relations.
• Most firing had subsided by Sunday morning, but intermittent exchanges and unresolved security disputes left border communities at risk.