Afghanistan and Pakistan Border Tensions Continue
Murad Makhmudov, Sawako Uchida, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Pakistan remains plagued by the relentless specter of Islamist militancy, with extremist groups such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group continuing to sow chaos and bloodshed.
Simultaneously, the long-simmering insurgency in Balochistan—driven by separatist ambitions—poses a grave challenge to the state’s cohesion. This volatile mix of internal strife and militant violence fuels frequent and increasingly dangerous flare-ups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, where skirmishes between armed forces have become disturbingly routine.
The Guardian reports, “The cross-border strikes came after two explosions were reported in the Afghan capital and another in south-eastern Afghanistan on Thursday. The Taliban-run defence ministry subsequently accused Pakistan of ‘violating its sovereignty’ in connection with the attacks.”
Pakistan – not denying or confirming the Kabul strike – said it did carry out “a series of retribution operations.”
The latest casualties in these tense frontier zones are not an aberration but part of a broader and deeply entrenched pattern of instability that haunts bilateral ties. In a bitter twist of irony, Afghanistan—before the Taliban’s resurgence—had itself accused Pakistan of nurturing terrorism and empowering the very forces that now threaten regional peace. The line between ally and adversary grows ever more blurred, as both nations struggle under the weight of distrust, insurgency, and the consequences of decades of proxy warfare.
The Taliban has confirmed launching countermeasures against Pakistani forces across several rugged, mountainous stretches along the northern frontier—a move it described as “an act of retaliation.”
According to Taliban officials, the strikes were a direct response to a violation of Afghan airspace by Pakistan’s armed forces. This latest exchange underscores the deepening hostility and volatile mistrust that now defines the borderlands, where each incursion threatens to spark a broader conflagration between two uneasy neighbors with a long and tangled history.
Pakistan has officially acknowledged the deaths of 23 armed forces personnel in the latest border skirmishes. However, in a stark and provocative counterclaim, the Taliban assert that their fighters killed at least 58 Pakistani soldiers during the clashes. The disparity in reported casualties not only highlights the fog of conflict but also reflects the ongoing war of narratives between Islamabad and Kabul.
The Foreign Minister of Afghanistan informed the media that “we have no problems” with the people of Pakistan or its political ledership. However, “there are some groups in Pakistan that are trying to spoil the situation. Afghanistan has a right to keep its territory and its borders safe, and so it has retaliated to the violation.”
The BBC reports, “Pakistan’s military has not officially commented, but a security source speaking to the BBC claimed that firing took place at several locations along the Pakistani-Afghan border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Baramcha.”
Qatar called on Afghanistan and Pakistan to “Prioritise dialogue, diplomacy, and restraint.”
Both Afghanistan and Pakistan maintain cordial ties with major regional powers such as China and the Russian Federation—nations with vested interests in regional stability and counterterrorism. Yet, despite their influence, Beijing and Moscow have remained notably restrained, carefully navigating the crisis from the sidelines. It remains to be seen whether either will step forward to mediate or exert pressure behind closed doors. For now, the standoff appears to be treated as a bilateral issue, one that both Kabul and Islamabad may prefer to resolve—or endure—on their own terms, even as tensions threaten to spiral beyond their control.
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