What is unfolding now is no longer a mere Afghan–Pakistan border conflict. It has grown into a full-scale war, one that demands an immediate ceasefire. As a temporary relief, a 48-hour ceasefire agreement has been reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan, coming into effect at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul and Kandahar have killed 15 Afghan civilians and injured more than 100 others. These airstrikes followed a strong Taliban counteroffensive in which their forces overran Pakistani outposts along the Spin Boldak border. The Taliban displayed evidence of the retreat, including trousers abandoned by fleeing Pakistani soldiers. “Empty trousers were found in abandoned Pakistani posts near the Durand Line. The Taliban displayed them publicly in Nangarhar province,” Afghan journalist Daud Junbish of the BBC reported. He also shared a photograph showing Taliban fighters holding up the trousers and weapons left behind by Pakistani troops who had withdrawn from the posts.
Amid the intensifying clashes, public sentiment in Afghanistan has turned sharply against Pakistan, with many Afghans expressing open support for the Taliban regime. “If necessary, we are ready to join the Islamic Emirate’s forces on the battlefield with the Mujahideen,” said Muhibullah, a resident of Kandahar, speaking to media. “The Islamic Emirate has given them a strong response. All the people are standing with them against Pakistan,” added Baitullah, a native of Paktia province.
The present round of fighting began after Pakistani forces carried out airstrikes on camps belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Kabul last week. This marks the most serious confrontation between the two neighbours since the Taliban came to power in 2021. The escalation also coincides with the Taliban foreign minister’s official visit to India, adding a diplomatic dimension to the crisis. According to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, the Pakistani airstrike on Spin Boldak district in Kandahar killed 15 civilians and injured over 100 others. Local hospitals reported that more than 80 of the injured were women and children. The Taliban claimed that Pakistani troops suffered heavy casualties during the clashes and that their fighters had captured several Pakistani weapons and tanks.
Taliban puts many Pakistani Army posts on FIRE.
Afghan Taliban attacks Pakistan at multiple locations. Heavy Clashes ongoing.
19 Pakistani soldiers and 3 Afghan civilians killed in border clashes with the Taliban.
🇵🇰🇦🇫 pic.twitter.com/q3sGZFgROF
— sumit🇮🇳 (@sumit45678901) December 28, 2024
The Pakistani military, meanwhile, stated that Taliban forces had launched attacks on two of its border posts in the southwest and northwest regions. It said both assaults were successfully repelled and that about 30 Taliban fighters were killed. Afghanistan, however, denied the Pakistani account and accused Islamabad of instigating the violence through its air operations. This is not the first time the border has flared up. On October 7, Pakistani soldiers were attacked along the frontier in what Afghanistan described as retaliation for an earlier Pakistani airstrike. Afghan officials claimed that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in that attack, while Pakistan confirmed the loss of 23 personnel. The border was subsequently sealed, and the situation eased only after diplomatic mediation by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The current ceasefire offers a fragile pause, but tensions remain high along the Durand Line. Both nations accuse each other of aggression, and the fear of renewed hostilities looms over the region.
