Fresh Clashes Erupt Between Pakistani Forces and Afghan Taliban in Kurram District: Report
Islamabad: Fresh fighting broke out late Tuesday between Pakistani forces and the Afghan Taliban in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to Dawn, citing state media reports.
State broadcaster PTV News reported that “Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij opened unprovoked fire in Kurram,” prompting the Pakistani Army to respond “with full force and intensity,” quoting security sources on X.
The term Fitna al-Khawarij is used by the state to describe militants affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
PTV added that Taliban regime posts sustained heavy damage during the clashes, with one of their tanks catching fire after being hit, forcing Taliban fighters to retreat. “Another post and tank position of the Afghan Taliban were destroyed in the Kurram sector,” the broadcaster later reported.
According to Dawn, PTV also confirmed the destruction of a fourth tank position at the Shamsadar post, adding that an “important commander of Fitna al-Khawarij” was reportedly killed in the operation.
Earlier in the day, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Ambassador Amna Baloch gave a “comprehensive briefing” to resident ambassadors in Islamabad on the recent developments along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. She emphasized Pakistan’s “legitimate security concerns” and reaffirmed its “unwavering resolve to protect its territorial integrity and national security.”
The renewed clashes follow what Pakistan described as an unprovoked attack by Afghan Taliban forces on military posts along the Pak-Afghan border over the weekend. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred, while more than 200 Taliban and allied militants were killed as Pakistan retaliated.
The Taliban regime in Kabul, however, claimed the assault was a “retaliatory” response to alleged Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan last week—a claim Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied. Pakistan maintains that Kabul must “stop harbouring the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan on its soil.”
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban government to prevent terrorist groups from launching cross-border attacks, while Kabul insists that “Afghan soil is not used for attacks on neighbouring countries.”
According to Dawn, both the United States and China have offered to mediate to help de-escalate tensions, even as Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described current relations between the two neighbours as “hostile.”
“There are no ties, direct or indirect, as of today,” Asif told Geo News. “You can say there are no active hostilities, but the environment is hostile. Clashes could resume at any time.”
When asked about the possibility of dialogue, the minister said, “If Afghanistan wants talks while issuing threats, then they should act on their threats — we’ll negotiate afterwards. If you are attacked, you have the right to respond and target wherever the attack originates.”
