Border Skirmishes Erupt Between Afghanistan and Pakistan as Peace Efforts Falter

By Staff, Agencies

Afghan and Pakistani forces exchanged intense gunfire along their shared border late Friday night, undermining a fragile ceasefire and further straining relations between the two neighbors after stalled negotiations failed to deliver a lasting agreement.

Officials in Kabul and Islamabad confirmed the clashes, with each side blaming the other for triggering the confrontation. Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces launched attacks toward Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak district in Kandahar province, prompting Afghan troops to respond.

Pakistan, however, rejected the claim, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson stating that Afghan forces opened fire first near the Chaman border in what he described as “unprovoked” action.

The Pakistani government stressed that it remains on high alert and committed to defending its territory and protecting civilians.

Residents on the Afghan side said the fighting began around 10:30 pm local time and continued for nearly two hours. Kandahar’s information chief, Ali Mohammad Haqmal, told AFP that Pakistani forces used light and heavy weaponry, including mortars that allegedly hit civilian homes. He later said the clashes ended after both sides agreed to halt the fighting.

The incident comes despite a temporary ceasefire signed in Doha on October 19. Since then, multiple rounds of negotiations hosted by Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have failed to yield progress toward a permanent settlement.

The most recent talks, held in Saudi Arabia last weekend, concluded without breakthroughs, though both governments pledged to uphold the shaky truce.

Tensions have nonetheless continued to escalate. Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of carrying out air raids in eastern Afghanistan in recent weeks. One alleged strike in Khost province in late November reportedly killed nine children and a woman, a claim Islamabad has firmly denied.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply amid mutual accusations of cross-border militancy. Kabul has accused Islamabad of conducting drone strikes in early October that caused fatalities in the Afghan capital, warning of retaliation.

Those allegations were followed by days of heavy clashes that reportedly killed dozens of soldiers, civilians, and fighters on both sides before Qatar intervened to broker the October 19 ceasefire.

Since then, two additional rounds of talks in Turkey have ended without results, reportedly after Afghan authorities declined to provide written guarantees that the Pakistani Taliban [TTP] and other militant groups would not use Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan, which has long struggled with deadly militant violence.