Pakistan-Taliban border clashes continue amid diplomatic efforts

Since October 12, border clashes between Pakistan and the Taliban have continued in multiple locations, with both sides accusing the other of initiating hostilities. Russian and European Union officials visiting Kabul and Islamabad called for renewed dialogue and de-escalation.

On October 17, Pakistani forces and the Taliban exchanged fire for nearly four hours in the Kurram district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and across the border in the Dand Patan and Zazi Aryob districts of Afghanistan’s Paktia province. The fighting involved light and heavy weapons, including Pakistani artillery. Local sources told Afghan media that Pakistani rocket fire had struck residential areas.

Pakistan alleged that the Taliban provided covering fire for militants infiltrating Pakistan. Pakistani sources claimed that their forces killed several Taliban fighters and destroyed two Taliban border posts, while a third was abandoned.

Afghan media reported that seven Pakistani soldiers were killed and six others injured. Meanwhile, media accounts linked to Pakistan claimed that multiple Taliban border posts were destroyed and 13 Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) fighters were killed.

The latest round of fighting between the two former allies began after a complex suicide attack in northwestern Pakistan on September 18 killed 31 people and injured more than 100. Ittehad ul Mujahideen Pakistan (IMP), a militant alliance formed in April 2025, claimed responsibility. Pakistan holds the Taliban responsible for sheltering the IMP, TTP, and other militants who have attacked Pakistan.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan’s latest quarterly report documented 13 civilian deaths and 20 injuries, including women and children, from cross-border attacks between July 1 and September 30.

Last week’s clashes came amid diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. On October 14, Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev met with Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, while Sergey Naryshkin, the director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, met with his Taliban counterpart, Abdul Haq Wasiq. Although no significant statements were released from these meetings, the parallel engagements suggested an effort to discourage further conflict.

Earlier in the week, European Union Special Envoy for Afghanistan Thomas Frellesen traveled to Kabul from October 12 to 14. Frellesen urged renewed dialogue and a de-escalation of tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. He also raised concerns about terrorist groups using Afghanistan as a sanctuary for cross-border activity. During Frellesen’s meeting with Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, head of the notorious Haqqani Network, the two discussed security and regional stability.

Relatedly, on October 15, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking at a conference in Azerbaijan, said that the Taliban needed to take action against terrorist groups in Afghanistan. China has sought Taliban assistance in combating militant groups such as the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP), a Uyghur militant group that seeks to establish an independent Islamic state in Xinjiang, China. Abdul Haq al Turkistani, the TIP’s emir, serves on Al Qaeda’s executive leadership council and resides in Afghanistan.

Will Selber is a retired US CENTCOM foreign area officer with over 4 years in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the owner of Grumpy Combat Veteran on Substack.