Additional Coverage:
- Overnight exchange of fire along the Afghan-Pakistan border kills 5 and wounds 8, officials say (nbcnews.com)
Cross-Border Clash Kills Five Afghan Civilians, Wounds Eight Amid Renewed Tensions
JALALABAD, Afghanistan – A deadly overnight exchange of fire along the volatile border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has resulted in the deaths of five Afghan civilians and injuries to eight others, including three on the Pakistani side. The incident, which occurred near the Afghan city of Spin Boldak and the Pakistani city of Chaman, has reignited accusations between the two nations, each blaming the other for violating a fragile two-month ceasefire.
The clash, which lasted until early Saturday morning, claimed the lives of three children and one woman in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, according to Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of information for Spin Boldak District. On the Pakistani side, police and a hospital official in Chaman, Mohammad Awais, reported three individuals, including a woman, were wounded by the shelling and gunfire.
This latest eruption of violence follows a period of heightened tension since October, when earlier border clashes led to dozens of casualties and hundreds wounded on both sides. A Qatar-mediated ceasefire had largely held since then, but peace talks aimed at a lasting agreement have yet to yield results. The October violence was sparked by explosions in the Afghan capital, Kabul, which the Taliban government attributed to Pakistan and vowed to avenge.
Both Afghanistan and Pakistan have offered conflicting accounts of who initiated the recent cross-border firing. Haqmal stated that Afghan forces waited 10-15 minutes before returning fire after Pakistani forces allegedly began shooting, and ceased their response “within an hour,” while Pakistani firing continued until Saturday morning. Conversely, Mohammad Sadiq, a local Pakistani police official, asserted that the shooting originated from the Afghan side, prompting Pakistani troops to return fire near the critical Chaman border crossing.
Abidullah Farooqi, a spokesman for the Afghan border police, claimed Pakistani forces first threw a hand grenade into the Spin Boldak area, prompting the Afghan response, and reiterated Afghanistan’s commitment to the ceasefire. Meanwhile, Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, stated that the “Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing along the Chaman border,” adding that Pakistani forces remain vigilant to protect the nation’s integrity and citizens.
The border skirmish occurred just a day after Pakistan announced it would allow the United Nations to transport relief supplies into Afghanistan through the Chaman and Torkham crossings, which have been mostly closed for nearly two months due to escalating tensions.
In a separate development, Pakistan’s military reported Saturday that its security forces had neutralized nine Pakistani Taliban militants during two intelligence-led operations in the northwestern districts of Tank and Lakki Marwat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a border with Afghanistan. Pakistan frequently blames the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP), an organization closely allied with the Afghan Taliban, for various militant attacks within its borders. Many TTP fighters are believed to have sought refuge in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s takeover in 2021, further straining relations between the neighboring countries.