Uneasy calm returns to Pakistan-Afghanistan border after deadly clashes

A fragile quiet descended on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border Friday after fierce overnight fighting left at least 10 soldiers dead and several wounded, according to local officials and residents. Authorities in Islamabad and Kabul confirmed that clashes continued late into Thursday night across multiple sectors, with Pakistani forces conducting extensive air and ground operations targeting what they described as militant positions inside Afghanistan.

Conflicting Casualty Claims

Afghan officials announced a cessation of hostilities at midnight, but Pakistani security sources said military operations extended beyond that point, with the Pakistan Air Force carrying out airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia provinces. Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the fresh strikes but reported no casualties. Both sides presented sharply divergent casualty figures, with Pakistani spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi claiming 133 Afghan soldiers killed, while Afghan deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat asserted Afghan forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers during four hours of fighting. Anadolu could not independently verify these competing claims.

Border Tensions and Residents' Accounts

Local residents in the mountainous border region reported heavy firing throughout the night, but no gunfire had been heard since early morning, raising cautious hopes of de-escalation. "There has been calm since early morning, and there is no firing in the border area right now," Hidayatullah Khan, a resident of the Bajaur border area, told Anadolu. The latest confrontation marks one of the most serious flare-ups in recent months, following Sunday's Pakistani airstrikes that Islamabad said killed 70 militants, while Afghan officials and the UN reported civilian deaths. Relations have deteriorated as Pakistan accuses militants of operating from Afghan territory, an allegation Kabul rejects, even as diplomatic contacts continue amid efforts to ease tensions.